Cleveland Indians facing Toronto Blue Jays shows how front offices were built.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It was about 24 hours before Mark Shapiro's Toronto Blue Jays were set to open the 2016 American League Championship Series against the Cleveland Indians.
It was a matchup Shapiro desperately wanted. After the Blue Jays swept Texas to reach the ALCS, Shapiro sent Tribe president Chris Antonetti a two-word text: "Your turn."
It was the eve of Game 3 of the Cleveland/Boston Red Sox series, which was won by the Tribe.
After 24 years with the Indians, it feels strange for Shapiro to be in the ballpark that he loves so much -- but with another team. He is president of the Blue Jays.
We talked about the long line of Tribe front office people.
"The last time the Tribe hired anyone from another team to run its baseball operation was in 1987," I said.
"Hank Peters," said Shapiro.
Peters came to Cleveland after a successful run as general manager of the Baltimore Orioles, and hired John Hart and Dan O'Dowd to be his top two assistants. Peters retired in 1992, promoting Hart to GM. O'Dowd was Hart's top assistant.
During the 1992 season, Shapiro interviewed with Hart. A former Princeton football player who had worked briefly in real estate, Shapiro wanted to pursue a baseball career. His father -- Ron Shapiro -- had been a baseball agent based in Baltimore. Ron Shapiro was well known to Peters, Hart and O'Dowd.
"I talked to Mark in my dark, damp office in the old stadium," said Hart. "I remember it was cold. I had a space heater on.
"We had just lost 100 games (57-105 record in 1991) and we weren't having a good year, again."
Shapiro was going to be an intern, although he was given a title as "assistant in baseball operations." It basically meant he did whatever Hart and O'Dowd wanted him to do.
"I remember the space heater and there were loose titles on the ceiling," Shapiro said. "There was this awful plastic plant."
Thinking back, Shapiro laughed about those grim days before the Tribe moved into what is now Progressive Field.
"I remember wondering, 'Is this what a big league general manager's office looks like?'" said Shapiro. "But I didn't care, I just wanted a chance. I was all in."
THE PETERS PLAN
Peters understood how to operate without a big budget. In Baltimore, his Orioles never were big spenders, even when they were a power in the 1970s and early 80s.
When Peters came to Cleveland, he needed to find young, smart, driven baseball men to revive a nearly comatose franchise.
"In that office, John Hart was giving me the vision of what it would be like for the Indians once they moved into the new ballpark," said Shapiro. "It was just a hole in the ground back then.
"But John made you see it. He was like a preacher. I couldn't wait to sign up."
The Indians have had to discover and develop young executives the same way they do with players. Shapiro said such teams can't simply throw money at players -- or executives. Home grown is by far the best way to go.
That was part of the Peters gospel. It also was the Oriole Way dating back to the 1960s. Earl Weaver came from the Oriole farm system to become a Hall of Fame manager.
In 1999, the Indians hired a young man named Chris Antonetti. Hart was still the Tribe's general manager, but Shapiro was being trained to take over.
"We had just lost Paul (DePodesta) to Oakland," said Shapiro. "Neal Huntington was our farm director. He knew Chris."
The 24-year-old Antonetti was given the title "assistant in baseball operations." It was the same title that Shapiro (and DePodesta) had carried.
"When we interviewed Chris, I remember thinking how young he looked." said Hart. "And it was also clear how smart he was, and he was wise beyond his years."
MAKING A LIST
Let's look at the names so far in this story and where they are today:
1. Shapiro is Blue Jays president.
2. Antonetti is president of the Tribe.
3. Hart is president of the Atlanta Braves.
4. DePodesta had a long career in baseball before joining the Browns as chief strategy officer.
5. Neal Huntington is the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
6. O'Dowd was general manager of the Colorado Rockies from 1999-2014. He is now with MLB TV.
There are several other former Tribe front office people around the league. They include Mike Hazen (Red Sox GM) and David Sterns (Milwaukee GM). Tribe assistant GM Derek Falvey was just hired to run the Minnesota Twins. He is 33.
THE FAMILY TREE
But the most interesting list is how one generation of Tribe baseball executives trained the next. Consider the following:
1. Peters is the Godfather.
2. Peters hired and eventually promoted Hart to GM in 1992.
3. Hart hired and eventually promoted Shapiro to GM in 2001.
4. Shapiro and Hart hired Antonetti, who was eventually promoted to GM in 2010. Antonetti is now team president.
5. Shapiro and Antonetti hired Mike Chernoff, who is now the Tribe's GM.
6. Shapiro's GM in Toronto is Ross Atkins, a former Tribe minor league pitcher who became the team's minor league director.
"That's what happens in a good organization," said Shapiro. "Part of my job is to develop good people who eventually can do my job."
Or as Antonetti has said several times, "Mark is the reason I'm here (as team president)."
THE OWNERSHIP FACTOR
If you look at nearly 30 years of the Tribe dating back to Peters, you see a pattern:
1. They aren't afraid to hire young people and empower them.
2. They promote from within.
3. They are viewed as a strong front office by other teams, who have hired many of their people.
Hart was named the Tribe's GM at age of 44. Shapiro at 33. Antonetti at 35. Current GM Chernoff is 36.
"You have to give the Dolans a lot of credit," said Shapiro. "Some owners want to put their fingerprints all over the franchise. First Larry and now Paul give you freedom to do your jobs. That's important."
That also was true of Dick Jacobs, who owned the Tribe from 1986-2000. Then the Dolans bought the franchise.
So the Indians have had only two owners in 30 years. That's another reason the front office has been stable and a place for young executives to learn the game.
"In a market like Cleveland, it can't be about who gets the credit or the blame," said Shapiro. "You need a common vision. You have to be 100 percent aligned together. Continuity can become a competitive advantage."
THE GAME CHANGER
The one outsider who made a dramatic impact here is Terry Francona. Critics of Shapiro should understand he is the reason Francona is the Tribe's manager. Shapiro first met Francona during the 1999 winter meetings. They ended up on treadmills next to each other in the hotel's workout room.
"Tito was managing the Phillies," said Shapiro. "We had some mutual friends. We started talking."
Francona was fired in Philadelphia after the 2000 season. The Indians brought him into the front office as a special assistant to Shapiro in 2001. In 2002, Hart was general manager of the Rangers. He hired Francona as a coach.
Francona eventually managed Boston (2004-11), and won two World Series. He was fired after the 2011 season. When Francona wanted to manage again, he turned to the Tribe and Shapiro after Manny Acta was fired in 2012.
"It became a real mess for Tito in Boston," said Hart. "He wanted to work for people who knew him and understood him.
"Most people in the game were surprised when Tito did that, They wondered ... why Cleveland? But I knew why ... it was the people."
When Francona was hired by the Tribe, he said: "There's two main reasons I'm here today -- Chris Antonetti and Mark Shapiro. We've kept in touch for the last 12 years. I value not only their friendship but their guidance and their leadership."
Before Francona was hired, Shapiro and Antonetti explained the Tribe's budget constraints.
"We told him how it was in April when the weather was cold and there were 8,000 people in the stands," said Shapiro. "Chris and I were almost trying to de-recruit him. We didn't want him taking the job without understanding all the challenges."
Four years later, Francona has had four consecutive winning seasons and has them in the ALCS for the first time since 2007.
Now Francona, Shapiro and Antonetti are meeting with the American League pennant on the line.
"It's really a Cleveland story," said Hart. "I'm really proud of Mark and happy for him, but I'm pulling for the Indians. That's where it all really began for so many of us."
