The Path To General Management

Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes to be a General Manager (GM) for a professional baseball organization? Have you played all the strategy modes on MLB The Show and feel pretty confident in your abilities? Well, how about I let you in on a little secret. If you truly love the game of baseball, you qualify. Contrary to popular belief, not every GM started out as a player or used to be a scout. Although there are some, the majority of GM’s worked their way up from the bottom. There’s no specific route on how to get to the top, but there are ways to improve your chances. Here are a few GM’s and the path they took to get where they’re at:

Brian Cashman: New York Yankees

Photo cred: nytimes.com/

No better way to start off than with the first GM to ever win a World Series in each of his first three years after taking over a team. Sure you could argue that he inherited a dynasty, but this man worked his way into being the guy to call all the shots. Cashman was a history major at Catholic University of America, where he was a second baseman for their baseball team and would then intern with the New York Yankees during the summer. Because his internship couldn’t necessarily keep him afloat financially, he also worked stadium security at night. After his internship was finished, Cashman was hired to be one of the assistant GM’s for the Yankees. From there, Cashman became Vice President, then moved to GM, and now he resides as the GM and the Senior Vice President of the New York Yankees. Despite having to work his way from a security guard during the graveyard shift, Cashman has still managed to keep one of the most historic franchises in all of sports competitive and at the top of the American League in nearly every year.

Alex Anthopoulos: Toronto Blue Jays (Former)

Photo cred: bluejayhunter.com

If you think Cashman started from the bottom, hold on one second and read Anthopoulos’ story. Even though he is no longer the GM, his story is one that needs to be shared. Alex Anthopoulos is a Montreal native who graduated from McMaster University with a degree in Economics. After school, his father passed away so Anthopoulos went back home to work in the family business. After a couple of years in the that business, Anthopoulos decided to follow his dream and work in professional baseball. After sending letters out to every team in the MLB, Anthopoulos finally landed a job….. sorting letters. Specifically, sorting fan letters down in the mailroom for no pay.

Yeah, true story.

Anthopoulos saw this position as an opportunity and he seized every moment of it. “The biggest thing I did with the fan mail thing [his unpaid job with the Expos] — and I can’t stress this enough — is the importance of humility in anything you do. The minute you think things should be delivered to you or entitled to you, you’re not going to get very far in life.”1 Anthopoulos went on to become an area scout for the Florida Marlins before becoming the scouting coordinator for the Toronto Blue Jays, which eventually led him to become GM from 2009-2015. Anthopoulos now works for the LA Dodgers as the Vice President of Baseball Operations.

Jon Daniels: Texas Rangers

Photo cred: newdawgblog.wordpress.com

Daniels wasn’t always in baseball. Like Anthopoulos, Daniels left college to work for another business and quit after a couple of years to pursue a career in professional baseball. Daniels took an internship with the Colorado Rockies before landing a job with the Texas Rangers as an assistant in Baseball Operations. With a degree in Applied Economics from Cornell, it was obvious Daniels had the brains to take on the job and quickly worked his way to become the Director of Baseball Operations. Daniels was hired to be the GM at the age of 28, making him the youngest General Manager in baseball history. Not only was he the youngest, but he also led the Texas Rangers to the World Series in 2010 and 2011 despite having to overcome some incredible odds. “The Rangers are at the bottom of the payroll spectrum, they’re not going to be at the top, and since '10, when they were at the bottom, that hasn’t been a major obstacle.”2 The Rangers still remain to be one of the most competitive teams in the American League to this day.

So yes, there are plenty of different ways to become a GM and, as you can see, they all started out as the low man on the totem pole before climbing to the top. There are plenty of other paths that were taken by GM’s to reach where they are, but I believe that these three are the most diverse. Of course, there are a few former players who found their way into the front office who are now GM’s. But the majority are just educated baseball fans who wanted to be part of the action. So if you didn’t believe me earlier about qualifying by only truly loving the game, what do you think about it now?

References:

1 Clapp, B. (2015, March 30). How Ten MLB General Managers Began Their Sports Careers [Web log post]. Retrieved March 21, 2017, from http://www.workinsports.com/blog/how-ten-mlb-general-managers-began-their-sports-careers/

2 MLB Rangers Believe They Can Defend AL West Crown Without Spending Spree. (2015, December 10). Retrieved March 29, 2017, from http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2015/12/10/Franchises/MLB-Rangers.aspx?hl=Jon Daniels&sc=0