Ever wonder which GMs have held their positions the longest? Or how many GMs were with their current teams a decade ago? I've compiled the list thanks to Baseball America's executive database. It shows how long GMs have been with their current teams, not when they got their first gig running a team. That list would look different, with Andy MacPhail, Dave Dombrowski and Sandy Alderson at the top (I'm using the term 'GM' loosely; some of the executives below have different titles on their business cards).
The Bay Area has baseball's two longest-tenured GMs, two of the five people on this list to have held their current job for more than a decade. There's been lots of turnover in the past five years, as more than half (17) of baseball's GMs were hired in that time. Here's the complete list:
- Brian Sabean, Giants, 1996
- Billy Beane, Athletics, 1997
- Brian Cashman, Yankees, 1998
- Dan O'Dowd, Rockies, 1999
- Kenny Williams, White Sox, 2000
- Larry Beinfest, Marlins, 2002
- Dave Dombrowski, Tigers, 2002
- Jim Hendry, Cubs, 2002
- Doug Melvin, Brewers, 2002
- Theo Epstein, Red Sox, 2002
- Jon Daniels, Rangers, 2005
- Andrew Friedman, Rays, 2005
- Ned Colletti, Dodgers, 2005
- Dayton Moore, Royals, 2006
- Andy MacPhail, Orioles, 2007
- Bill Smith, Twins, 2007
- Ed Wade, Astros, 2007
- Neal Huntington, Pirates, 2007
- Frank Wren, Braves, 2007
- Tony Reagins, Angels, 2007
- John Mozeliak, Cardinals, 2007
- Walt Jocketty, Reds, 2008
- Jack Zduriencik, Mariners, 2008
- Ruben Amaro, Jr., Phillies, 2008
- Mike Rizzo, Nationals, 2009
- Alex Anthopoulos, Blue Jays, 2009
- Jed Hoyer, Padres, 2009
- Kevin Towers, Diamondbacks, 2010
- Chris Antonetti, Indians, 2010
- Sandy Alderson, Mets, 2010
Check out MLBTR's series on the reaction each GM generated upon taking his first GM job: AL East, AL Central, AL West, NL East, NL Central, NL West.
wow, almost 10 lovable losing years with old Jimmy Hendry…..when are they gonna learn?
Hendry’s not the best at drafts, but he does what he’s told (again, the Tribune forced his hand with Soriano) and he’s helped to get the most competitive they’ve been in generations.
Actually that deal was really made by then Cubs president John McDonough. All Hendry did was follow through on the deal his boss set in place. I don’t blame Hendry for Soriano at all.
While you can say McDonough wanted Henry to make a “big splash” and get Soriano, Hendry is the one who foolishly gave Soriano an 8 year deal when no one else was offering more than 5.
And McDonough wasn’t around when Hendry gave Milton effing Bradley a 3 year deal.
Hendry is also not the best at signing free agents or making trades . . .
So, I think to myself. Is Larry Beinfest the best GM nobody talks about or knows the name of?
That was exactly my thoughts! Larry Who?
balling on a budget!
Michael Hill is their technical GM. Everybody knows who Michael Hill is.
Didn’t Epstein technically step down for a little while there a couple years back? That’d break the tenure, no?
He did step down, yes. I decided to include him from his start date, since it’s not as though he left to work for another club.
you mean the gorilla suit incident?
Dan O’Dowd is the best on this list. Not only did he turn the rockies into total crap at first, he turned them into a good franchise from essentially nothing (though it did take him a while). He knows how to develop a farm system and turn trash into gold.
He knows how to develop a farm system and turn cheap team-friendly deals into 10 year commitments paid in gold
fixed this for you
ha!
any plans to update the GM trade/transaction history series? those were really excellent
Hmmphhh! No Blacks?
Kenny Williams…?
I like to refer to Mike Rizzo as “M to the Rizzo” if that helps.
tony reagins and kenny williams are confused by your question
I can’t believe Cashman with the Yankees is the third longest… I thought the Steinbrenners had a reputation to keep up!
I’m not trying to start a death pool here, but which of these guys skates on the thinnest ice at the current moment?
Exactly half of this list was hired in 2007 or later, suggesting that GM’s might get four years at the most to start showing results, or be shown the door.
My money is on Jack Z. He had a number of high profile moves blow up on him in the 2010 off-season. I think he gets one more year to sort through things before the M’s move in another direction.
Jack Z, Doug Melvin and Dumbrowski. If the Tigers don’t do well this year I’m expecting to see Leyland and Dumbrowski gone. Same thing with Melvin
Double A (AKA the Assassin) was hired by the Jays as head of player development in 2003. They got him after the Nationals(Expos) left Montreal.
Oh yeah…Lunchbox45 is the Jays Travis Snider..who in spite of his early numbers, will have his break out year this season.