“Bill Shaikin: Angels' Torii Hunter aspires to be a GM” |
| Bill Shaikin: Angels' Torii Hunter aspires to be a GM Posted: 10 Jul 2010 07:00 PM PDT For the All-Star with the perpetual smile, this could be the ultimate challenge. The guy sitting in Section 511 knows he cannot hit a 95-mph fastball, or leap high above the fence to intercept a home run. But the guy sitting in Section 511 absolutely believes he knows which players his team needs to get — and get rid of. The general manager that pays no heed must be an idiot. Torii Hunter wants to be a general manager.
"I would like to build my own team," he said, "show that I have a little talent for scouting, picking great athletes, putting a team on the field." That would be the easy part. That job description fails to include the 24/7 calls, e-mails and text messages, negotiations with agents and other general managers, construction of a front office, navigation of ever-tighter budgets, and meetings upon meetings. And the fans' calling you an idiot. Hunter will have earned more than $130 million by the time his Angels contract expires in 2012, and he might have one more contract left in him. He would not need another job. Many of his peers would cash in and go home. "I love baseball," he said. "That's all I know. I've been around baseball my whole life. Why would I want to give it up just because I retire? "I'm still learning about the game." Dave Stewart said much the same thing when he retired in 1995, with four 20-win seasons and three World Series championship rings. He worked as a special assistant to Oakland Athletics General Manager Sandy Alderson in 1996, as a special assistant to San Diego Padres GM Kevin Towers in 1997, as the Padres' pitching coach in 1998. The Toronto Blue Jays hired him as assistant GM that fall. In four years, he got two GM interviews and no jobs, and he gave up on his dream to become an agent. "All the things you thought would apply didn't apply," Stewart said. "I thought having played the game and being on the inside would help." To be a black man, he said, did not help. Tony Reagins of the Angels and Ken Williams of the Chicago White Sox are the only black GMs, although Michael Hill has the title in the Florida Marlins' organizational structure. Omar Minaya of the New York Mets and Ruben Amaro of the Philadelphia Phillies are the only Latino GMs. "I don't think it's very helpful if you're a minority," Stewart said, "but that can be overcome." Find the right mentor, Stewart said, and you'll probably get your chance. Today's game is not as much about an old-boy network as about a get-the-hot-assistant network. "Flavor of the month," Stewart said. At the height of the Moneyball era in Oakland, Billy Beane assistants were hired to run the Dodgers (Paul DePodesta) and Toronto (J.P. Ricciardi, who beat out Stewart for the job). John Hart mentored his successor in Cleveland, Mark Shapiro, as well as DePodesta, Dan O'Dowd (Colorado), and Josh Byrnes (Arizona).
Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Content Keyword RSS To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment