Thought people might be interested in hearing how there are some common philosophies between the Rockies, D-Backs, and the Indians.
Hart's influence alive with remaining teams Jim Ingraham, JIngraham@News-Herald.com 10/12/2007
BOSTON - What does the man who has propagated more general managers than any other executive in the major leagues look for in a hire? "The thing I always tried to do," said John Hart, "was hire guys who were smarter than me." Today, Hart's guys are everywhere. He's the baseball version of the Bill Parcells coaching tree. Three of the teams in baseball's final four are being run by general managers trained by Hart: the Indians under Mark Shapiro, the Rockies under Dan O'Dowd, and the Diamondbacks under Josh Byrnes.
Another Hart protégé, Neal Huntington, was recently hired by the Pirates as general manager. Chris Antonetti, Shapiro's current assistant, is widely regarded as a general manager-in-waiting for some organization. And Paul DePodesta, currently working in the front office of the Padres, is a former Dodgers general manager.
Incredibly, in the spring of 1999, Shapiro, O'Dowd, Byrnes, Huntington, Antonetti and DePodesta were all members of the Indians' front office, under Hart. No wonder the Tribe won five consecutive Central Division titles. "It's hard to believe that the long downtrodden Cleveland Indians would spawn so many great players and so many front office people from that era," said Hart, speaking by phone from Arizona.
It was the vision of Hart, his assistant at the time, O'Dowd, Indians owner Richard Jacobs and a cash cow new ballpark in 1994 that launched the Indians on that great ride through the mid to late 1990s. Five consecutive division titles and two American League pennants stamped the Indians as a model franchise. It was Hart and Co. who pioneered the use of multi-year contracts to buy players out of their arbitration years, thereby ensuring cost certainty for the ballclub, and establishing a stability of personnel that allowed fans to attach emotionally to the players in an era of such rampant free-agent movement that, as Jerry Seinfeld once said, "You root for the uniform, not the players."
The Indians were the feel-good, run-right franchise in those years, a model that other teams tried to emulate. And the man at the top of the flow chart, just beneath Jacobs, was John Hart. A decade later, Hart's disciples have scattered to all corners of the major leagues, running their own teams, and in many cases running them right to the tops of their divisions. "I'm happy for all the guys. They all deserve it," he said. "I still have a very close relationship with Mark, and I'm proud and happy for him. That was a tough gig following the success we had in Cleveland, but Mark has done great things. With Danny, he had to make some tough calls out in Colorado, but he's a smart guy and a good person. I'm glad ownership stuck with him. And Josh, like Mark and Danny, was put in a leadership role, and they've all kicked the door in."
Hart said there is one common philosophical thread that runs through all of his guys. "They all believe in player development, because that's where they came from," he said. "Mark and Danny ran our farm system, and Josh was our scouting director. So their success doesn't surprise me. The formula works." Hart remains closest to Shapiro, his hand-picked successor when he stepped down as Tribe general manager following the 2001 season. "I never wavered on Mark," said Hart. "It didn't take long when we hired him (in 1992) to realize he was a hard worker, a great communicator, and had an unshakable resolve about where he wanted to go. And he was a good listener. He also knew, when he became general manager, what he was getting into, that he wasn't going to be able to just snap his fingers and get it done. It was going to take a lot of hard work."
Hart said the template for his hires was set by his first two, O'Dowd and Shapiro. "I tried to find sharp guys who had an athletic background, great character and were hard workers," he said. "All of these guys had that. Plus they were all very ambitious, but weren't up front about it. They were very loyal and worked hard to earn your respect." Now 59, Hart is currently working as a consultant with the Texas Rangers. He says he has watched many of the playoff games on television this month, including the Indians' win over the Yankees. "I pull for all of the guys today, but I have to say my heart is in Cleveland," he said. "I spent 13, 14 years there. The Dolans were great to me. How could I not pull for Cleveland?" Shapiro has invited Hart back to Cleveland for a postseason game, but so far Hart has declined. "I don't want to jinx them," he said.
CD, that is a very interesting article. I didn't realize there was such a common starting point for those current GM's and talent evaluators. One thing that I find impressive when you look at these clubs is the fact that Shapiro can find Sizemore, which most teams could, but also find Garko, when most said could not/would not succeed. The Rockies find Tulowitzki(who could not) but also trade for Matsui and Torrealba, whom others found expendable. Similar themes are found with the Dbacks. Developing your own. Obviously, whether this approach works over time is the true measure of success. But each of these teams has so much talent, and more in their farm systems to suggest time may end up being on their side.
'You don't have to be a great player to play in the major leagues, you've got to be a good one every day.'
Posts: 2052 | Location: ca | Registered: February 11, 2003
Interesting. The owners fired the Cardinals GM recently when a power stuggle between the long-time GM and the new guy head of Player Development got into a struggle of philosophies, and Player Development won.
May just be one of them thar' trends....
"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance." --- Terry Pratchett
In June 1982, John Hart started his professional coaching career in Rookie ball in Bluefield, West Virginia in the Appalacian League. He had just finished coaching a HS team in Orlando, Florida before his stint with the Orioles that summer. I was a starting pitcher for him that summer on the O's team that won the Appalacian League Crown with a 47-22 record. Several guys that made it to the big leagues were on that team including Billy Ripken, John Habyan, Eric Bell, Ken Gerhart and Jim Traber. He was a great man that I respected greatly.
John later became the General Manager of the Texas Rangers and every time I listen to the radio and they bash him for the job he did with the Rangers, I think back to the time I spent with him in Bluefield in 82 and can't think anything but good things about him, no matter how things went with the Rangers.
"You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time"
I was a starting pitcher for him that summer on the O's team that won the Appalacian League Crown with a 47-22 record. Several guys that made it to the big leagues were on that team including Billy Ripken, John Habyan, Eric Bell, Ken Gerhart and Jim Traber. He was a great man that I respected greatly.
Old Pitcher - that is a cool story Billy Ripkin told a story that fans used to heckle him by telling him he would never be as good as his brother. His response was "No kidding, but nobody else is as good as him either"
John Hart gets lots of credit for his past success but his lineage and training goes back to Baltimore. He was hand-picked and trained by Hank Peters who was a legendary figure from the Baltimore glory years. Peters was the intial GM hired by Dick Jacobs when he bought the Indians and Hart eventually took over from Peters when he retired.
Great story Old Pitcher and great article CD! Enjoyable read.
-------------------------------------------------- I never threw an illegal pitch. The trouble is, once in a while I toss one that ain't never been seen by this generation
Billy Ripkin told a story that fans used to heckle him by telling him he would never be as good as his brother. His response was "No kidding, but nobody else is as good as him either" 
