With the Phillies presumably in search of a President of Baseball Operations and a General Manager I thought as a comparison I’d take a look at how each of the 30 MLB teams are structured in regards to team leadership as well as their focus on baseball functions.
This is part two of the two part article series - today I focus on the 15 American League clubs ...
If ya missed part one here’s a link : https://www.philliesbaseballfan.com/post/11-25-2020-org-structure
American League East :
Tampa Rays : one of the most progressive organizations but also steeped in valuing experience - long term senior advisors and only group I’ve seen with a staff development department.
Stuart Sternberg - Principal Owner
Brian Auld - President of Business Operations
Matt Silverman - President of Baseball Operations
Erik Neander - Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations & General Manager
The GM has two Vice Presidents, a Special Assistant ( Bobby Heck ) and two senior advisors who both have long term tenure with the Rays ( RJ Harrison - since 1995 and Mitch Lukevics - 46 years in pro baseball - also with Rays since 1995 ).
Baseball Operations Departmental Focus :
Baseball Performance Science
Baseball Systems
Baseball Staff Development & Recruiting
Research and Development
Medical and Performance
Scouting
Player Development
Operations & Developmental Strategy
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New York Yankees :
Hal Steinbrenner - Managing General Partner
Hank Steinbrenner - General Partner/Co- Chairman
Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal - General Partner/Vice Chairperson
Jessica Steinbrenner - General Partner/Vice Chairperson
Randy Levine - President
Lonn Trost - Chief Operating Officer - responsible for the overall day-to-day functioning of the Yankees’ business operations.
Brian Cashman - Senior Vice President & General Manager - Baseball Operations
The General Manager has one Senior Vice President/Assistant General Manager reporting to him, one Vice President/Assistant General Manager and two Vice Presidents ( Baseball Operations & Scouting ) reporting to him. In addition a Special Assignment Scout ( Jim Hendry ) and five Special Advisors report directly.
Baseball Operations Departmental Focus :
Scouting
Quantitative Analysis
Baseball Operations
Baseball Systems
Player Development
Strength & Conditioning
Medical & Mental Health
Performance Science
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Boston Red Sox :
John W Henry - Principal Owner
Thomas C Werner - Chairman
Sam Kennedy - President & CEO
Chaim Bloom - Chief Baseball Officer - responsible for all baseball operations matters.
The Chief Baseball Officer has three Special Assistants, one General Manager and three Executive Vice Presidents/Assistant General Managers reporting directly to him.
Brian O’Halloran - General Manager
Baseball Operations Departmental Focus :
Player Development
Baseball Operations
Research & Development
Scouting
Medical
Baseball Systems
Strength & Conditioning
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Baltimore Orioles :
There are 14 partners in the Ownership Limited Partnership Group
John Angelos - Chairman & CEO
Greg Bader - Senior Vice President - Administration & Experience - oversees all administrative and service functions of the club
Mike Elias - Executive Vice President & General Manager - Baseball Operations - oversees all facets of the club’s baseball operations.
The General Manager has one Vice President/Assistant GM, one Senior Director and six Directors reporting to him.
Baseball Operations Departmental Focus :
Analytics
Scouting
Player Development
Administration
Operations
Baseball Development
Medical
Strength & Conditioning
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Toronto Blue Jays :
Edward Rogers - Chairman
Mark Shapiro - President & CEO - oversees both the baseball and business operations for the club.
From the baseball operations side there are five Special Assistants and a GM reporting to the President. From the business side there are three Senior Vice Presidents and four Vice Presidents reporting to the President.
Ross Atkins - Executive Vice President - Baseball Operations & General Manager
The GM has a Senior Vice President - Player Personnel, a Vice President - International Scouting and an Assistant GM reporting to him.
Baseball Operations Departmental Focus :
Scouting
Player Development
Baseball Operations
Baseball Research
Baseball Systems
Medical and Mental Health
High Performance
Sports Science
Strength & Conditioning
.......................................................
American League Central :
Cleveland Indians :
Paul Dolan - Owner/Chairman/CEO
Brian Barren - President - Business Operations
Chris Antonetti - President - Baseball Operations
The President of Baseball Operations has a GM and four Special Assistants reporting to him along with a Special Advisor ( Mark Hargrove ) and a Senior Advisor of Sports & Performance Psychology ( Dr. Charles Maher ).
Mike Chernoff - General Manager
The General Manager has three Assistant General Managers, six Vice Presidents reporting to him and two Special Advisors.
Baseball Operations Departmental Focus :
Baseball Administration
Scouting
Learning & Development
Sports Science
Player Development
Medical
Baseball Research
Performance
Strength & Conditioning
............................................................
Chicago White Sox :
Jerry Reinsdorf - Chairman
Dennis Gilbert - Special Assistant to the Chairman - assists in contract negotiations and consults on other baseball-related issues.
Howard Pizer - Senior Executive Vice President - Business Operations - primary
responsibility for the business and administrative operations.
Ken Williams - Executive Vice President - Baseball Operations - oversight and final approval on major baseball decisions.
Rick Hahn - Senior Vice President and General Manager - Baseball Operations
The GM has one Assistant GM, five Special Assistants and one Special Assignment Director reporting to him.
Baseball Operations Departmental Focus :
Analytics
Scouting
Player Development
Medical
Baseball Operations
Strength & Conditioning
.......................................................
Kansas City Royals :
John Sherman - Chairman and CEO
Brooks Sherman - Senior Advisor to the Chairman - Business Processes
Sarah Tourville - Senior Advisor to the Chairman - Strategy and Innovation
Kevin Uhlich - Senior Vice President - Business Operations
Dayton Moore - Senior Vice President - Baseball Operations & General Manager
The GM has three Vice President/Assistant GM’s, four Assistant GM’s and one Vice President - Baseball Operations reporting to him.
Baseball Operations Departmental Focus :
Player Performance
Scouting
International Operations
Medical
Player Development
Research and Development
Administration
Performance Science
Behavioral Science
Strength & Conditioning
......................................................................
Minnesota Twins :
Jim Pohland - Executive Chairman
Dave St. Peter - President and CEO - Business Operations - oversee the team’s day-to-day operations, strategic planning and interaction with Major League Baseball.
Derek Falvey - President - Baseball Operations - responsible for establishing the vision and related strategies for the club’s baseball operations.
Thad Levine - Senior Vice President and General Manager
The General Manager has one Vice President/Assistant GM, VP - Player Personnel, two Assistant General Managers, a Special Assistant - MLB and four Special Assistants reporting to him.
Baseball Operations Departmental Focus :
Scouting
Player Personnel
Player Development
Baseball Research
Medical
Data Analysis
Strength & Conditioning
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Detroit Tigers :
Christopher Ilitch - Chairman and CEO
Chris Granger - Group President
Duane McLean - Executive Vice President - Business Operations
Al Avila - Executive Vice President - Baseball Operations & General Manager
The General Manager has one Vice President/Assistant General Manager, two Vice Presidents ( Player Personnel & Player Development ), three Senior Advisors and seven Special Assistants reporting directly to him.
Baseball Operations Departmental Focus :
Analytics & Operations
Scouting
Player Development
Player Personnel
Baseball Strategies
Strength & Conditioning
..........................................................
American League West :
Oakland Athletics :
John Fisher - Owner/Managing Partner
David Kaval - President - responsible for overall direction but focuses on business side of operations.
There are two Special Assistants to the President ( Ricky Henderson & Rollie Fingers )
Miguel Duarte - Chief of Staff
Billy Beane - Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations
David Forst - General Manager
The GM has two Assistant GM’s and two Special Assistants reporting to him.
Baseball Operations Departmental Focus :
Scouting
Player Personnel
Player Development
Baseball Development & Technology
Administration
Medical
Operations
Research and Analytics
Strength & Conditioning
................................................................
Los Angeles Angels :
Arte & Carole Moreno - Ownership
Dennis Kuhl - Chairman
John Carpino - President - oversees all areas of business, sales, marketing, finance and communications. He is the principal executive in charge of business operations.
Dana Wells - Executive Vice President - business development, ticket sales and special projects.
Perry Minasian - General Manager - oversees all aspects of baseball operations and reports directly to the Owner.
The General Manager has two Assistant GM’s, one Senior Advisor and three Special Assistants ( including ex Phillie Ben Francisco ) reporting to him.
Baseball Operations Departmental Focus :
Scouting
Operations
Strategy
Quantitative Analysis
Baseball Systems
Medical & Performance
Strength & Conditioning
.........................................................
Texas Rangers :
Ray C. Davis - Co-Chairman & Managing Partner
Bob R. Simpson - Co-Chairman
Neil Leibman - Chief Operating Officer & Chairman - Ownership Committee - oversees all of the club’s revenue and business operations areas.
Rob Matwick - Executive Vice President - Business Operations
Jon Daniels - President - Baseball Operations & General Manager
The GM has three Assistant GM’s and six Special Assistants reporting to him.
Baseball Operations Departmental Focus :
Scouting
Sports Science
Medical
Baseball Systems
Player Development
Player Performance
Peak Performance
Operations
Research & Development
Strength & Conditioning
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Houston Astros :
Jim Crane - Owner & Chairman
Reid Ryan - Executive Advisor - Business Operations
Marcel Braithwaite - Senior Vice President - Business Operations - runs the operational side of the organization.
James Click - General Manager
The GM has one Assistant General Manager and three Special Assistants reporting directly to him.
Baseball Operations Departmental Focus :
Player Evaluation
Baseball Strategy
Player Development
Medical
Research and Development
Scouting
Advance Information
Baseball Technology
Baseball Strategy
Strength & Conditioning
........................................................
Seattle Mariners :
John Stanton - Chairman & Managing Partner
There is a Special Consultant to the Franchise ( Ken Griffey Jr ) and a Special Assistant to the Chairman ( Ichiro ). There is also an Organization Hitting Advisor ( Edgar Martinez ).
Kevin Mather - President & Chief Executive Officer
Randy Adamack - Senior Vice President, Special Advisor to the Chairman & CEO
Jerry DiPoto - Executive Vice President & General Manager - Baseball Operations
The GM has one VP/Assistant GM, one Assistant GM, one VP of Scouting and two Special Assistants reporting directly to him.
Baseball Operations Departmental Focus :
Scouting
Player Development
Baseball Analytics
Medical
Data Strategy
Strength & Conditioning
Research & Development Analytics
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Summary :
Twenty two of the thirty teams have maintained a semblance of the “traditional” organization architecture of a singular Team President/CEO with multiple direct executive reports to them. However only three teams ( Marlins, Mets, Pirates ) have not distinguished titles representative of split executive leadership/focus between business operations and baseball operations.
Five teams ( Brewers, Rangers, Cubs, Indians and Dodgers ) have established dual Presidencies ... one for each part of the split business/baseball equation. The traditional Baseball General Manager role has also seemingly gone by the wayside ... for twelve organizations it’s now incorporated as a report to a higher management tier ( President or Executive VP of Baseball Ops ). I found five teams ( Angels, Astros, Mets, Pirates, Marlins ) that maintain the GM only title as a singular top of the ladder baseball operations role ... thirteen organizations include the Baseball GM nomenclature as part of an Executive or Senior Vice President Baseball Operations title.
The GM role has also been engineered with multiple support roles focused on defined and specific areas within baseball operations. There are multiple roles entitled “Special Assistant”, “Assistant General Manager” and “Special Advisor” that are seemingly essential. Every team has recognized the importance of analytics and systems albeit to different extents. Most teams have honored tradition and experience or at the least publicly present that inclusion. Baseball is certainly a business but the more successful franchises seem to recognize it’s also a family kinship/partnership of past heroes and the identity needs to maintain fan interest, support and belonging.
My Take :
Two of the largest endeavors that I was honored to have a leadership role on were the build, installation and governance of an ERP system ( soup to nuts ... point of purchase to point of sale ). We were challenged with incorporating every aspect of the business, initially before the infamous Y2K cutover and then later as part of a merger. It required communication, the identification of knowledgeable resources, inclusion, education and structured architecture. Once in production it took a willingness to listen, adapt, incorporate and alter. There were no silos of individual or group isolation or actions not interwoven ... the engine couldn’t run without the full train on the tracks.
To me the Phillies can’t afford to not acknowledge that technology has refined the game, it’s instead brought long lived nuances ( yes the shift has always existed ) to focus. At the same time the value of learned knowledge thru experience is vital to be recognized and made equally inclusive. I believe the Rays get it right in that regard with the consistency of the two gentlemen who continually serve as sergeants to the GM in special assistant roles. Splitting the organization under two distinctions ( business and baseball ) also seems prudent and likely required ... the wealth of information now delivered by technology demands it in order to stay competitive in the game. I had a consultant once who told me “Steve, there are no miracles, tis only data” ... I’ll never forgot that ... the data doesn’t interpret itself nor act ... it’s a valued commodity but people are still the ones with the deliverable of utilizing it to succeed.
Communication is alway key ... there needs to be both an inclusive internal sharing of knowledge, a responsibility to listen as well as an ongoing public broadcast to generate and maintain interest. Baseball is ultimately for the fans who adore it. Sometimes there’s a image presented that such an acknowledgment seems to be lost on those embedded in the baseball profession. The media is a partner that must be trusted and informed but so should the internal intelligence of the team itself. A hidden gem of interest, an ability to deliver and share appropriate info, caring to know the people ... not just the actions might be right before the eyes but is worthless if it remains unseen or unheard 🧐😳. Just sayin ...
There is no truly successful governance or entity that doesn’t identify, recognize, embrace and empower their biggest asset ... it’s people. It’s always been and always will be the most important and key concept to attaining and maintaining excellence.
That’s my take ...
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
