BTF Awards - 2005 Executive of the Year

Chicago White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams is the 2005 Major League Executive of the Year, according to a poll of the Baseball Think Factory’s scholars-in-residence.  Williams was named to five of the eight ballots cast, finishing first on four ballots and second on another for a total of 23 points. 

Cleveland General Manager Mark Shapiro finished in second place in the balloting with 13 points on five ballots. 

Atlanta’s John Schuerholz was named to only two ballots, finishing first on both, for 10 points and third place, while Milwaukee’s Doug Melvin earned nine points with three second place votes. 

Oakland’s Billy Beane and Detroit’s Dave Dombrowski tied for fifth with five points.  The Yankee’s Brian Cashman, who finished eighth in the balloting right behind Toronto’s J.P. Ricciardi, was the only other G.M. to be named to more than one ballot.  For various reasons, many BTF contributors were reluctant to cast ballots for Executive of the Year. 

In the fifth year of his term, Williams constructed a White Sox team that won the A.L. Central for the first time since 2000, led the American League in wins, and then won eleven of twelve post-season contests to secure the franchise’s first World Championship since 1917. 

Over the course of his tenure, Williams has received a good deal of scorn from BTF contributors, but he needs to be applauded for his contributions to the 2005 White Sox.  Going into 2005, Williams faced several crises: the defection of his all-star right fielder; the free agency of his 30-homer shortstop; an offensive and defensive hole at catcher; an uncertain starting rotation; a bullpen that lacked both depth and reliability; and the need to hold the line on his payroll.  Further, Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen believed that the team needed to improve their team’s defense and “balance” its offensive attack.

Williams’ boldest move of the off-season, trading left fielder Carlos Lee for outfielder Scott Podsednik, reliever Luis Vizcaino and some payroll room, helped solve four of his concerns.  Podsednik teamed with free agent signee Jermaine Dye to completely replace the team’s 2004 offensive production from their corner outfielders, while adding some much need on-base percentage and left-handed at bats to a lineup severely lacking both.  While erratic, Vizcaino, along with free agent signee Dustin Hermanson and Bobby Jenks, and fantastic waiver wire claim, contributed to one of the major league’s best bullpens.  Furthermore, the trade and the removal of Magglio Ordonez’s burdensome 2004 contract freed the organization to seize several solid players when they became available.

Japanese import Tadahito Iguchi, a second baseman, teamed with Juan Uribe to replace the production that the squad received from their 2004 keystone combo while bettering the team’s defense.  Payroll flexibility also allowed Williams to snatch up A.J. Pierzynski when he was cut loose, which helped 2005 team match the production that the 2004 team had received from their backstops, while adding an important left-handed bat to the lineup.  Additionally, two of Williams’s 2004 mid-season moves contributed greatly to the 2005 White Sox success.  His acquisitions of pitcher Freddy Garcia for three good young players and pitcher Jose Contreras for Esteban Loaiza gave this year’s rotation reliability, promise and cost certainty.  While no one should deny that fortune smiled on the 2005 White Sox with the unexpectedly rapid development of Jenks, Neal Cotts and Jon Garland, Kenny Williams should receive the lion’s share of the credit for the 2005 White Sox successes. 

Cleveland General Manager Mark Shapiro’s investments continued to pay dividends in 2005.  Although the Indians struggled through the first several months of the 2005 season, they surged after the all-star break thanks to Shapiro’s acquisitions.  The team finished second in the American League in scoring after August thanks to Shapiro’s sharp trading, which netted the Tribe Travis Hafner (for Einar Diaz), Coco Crisp (for 80 innings of Chuck Finley), Grady Sizemore (part of the package for Bartolo Colon) and Ben Broussard (for Russ Branyan).

Shapiro also made some tremendous low-risk free agent signings, including Casey Blake in 2002 (after he’d been waived by three organizations), Ronnie Belliard in 2004 (deemed a liability in the clubhouse, on the field and at the dinner table), and Aaron Boone during the 2004 season (coming off an serious knee injury).  Shapiro’s contributions also helped the team finish first in the AL in ERA after the all-star break. 

He also took advantage of the market to acquire starters Kevin Millwood (as a free agent after a disappointing 2004 season) and Cliff Lee (in a mid-season 2002 trade when Montreal was inexplicably desperate for Colon) and relievers Bobby Howry, Bob Wickman, Scott Sauerbeck, Rafael Betancourt and Matt Miller as free agents when their values were at their nadir. Shapiro’s rebuilding program in Cleveland has succeeded tremendously and should begin producing a string of divisional titles in the near future. 

Atlanta’s John Schuerholz and Milwaukee’s Doug Melvin continued to add to their resumes in 2005.

Schuerholz’s legendary career, which now includes 16 divisional and two world championships, was further burnished by his 2005 accomplishments.  Faced with the loss of his best offensive player and sixty percent of his rotation to free agency, Schuerholz clotted the flow by dipping into his rich farm system – first, to acquire starter Tim Hudson and then, when free agent signees Raul Mondesi and Brian Jordan proved unable to handle their designated duties, to assume a large share of the team’s offense.  By season’s end, Schuerholz’s system had produced contributors Adam LaRoche (25 years old), Jeff Francoeur (21), Ryan Langerhans (25), Wilson Betemit (24) and Brian McCann (21) and introduced up-and-comers Kelly Johnson (23) and Andy Marte (21) to the big leagues while fielding a division winner. 

When injuries and ineffectiveness decimated his rotation and bullpen, Schuerholz turned to rookie Blain Boyer (23) and then traded for Kyle Farnsworth to bolster his bullpen and stuck his magnificent waiver acquisition Jorge Sosa to stabilize the rotation. 

In Milwaukee, Doug Melvin, who produced three division titles in Texas during the 1990s, helped the Brewers to their first .500-or-better season since 1992.  Like Schuerholz, Melvin turned to his strong minor league system to fashion his team’s successes.  His system produced the core of the next fine Brewers team with the promotion of Rickie Weeks (22-years old), J.J. Hardy (22), Prince Fielder (21) and Bill Hall (25).  Melvin also had an eye for acquiring cheap talent.  In the spirit of his masterful past free agent signings, like Matt Wise and Doug Davis,  Melvin took advantage of market inefficiencies to secure starter Tomo Ohka (for an expendable non-entity) and Jose Capellan (for an over-priced and over-valued closer).

Other general Managers also merit our praise for their work in 2005.  Oakland’s Billy Beane continued his masterful work.  He traded his two best pitchers before the season but reaped immediate contributions from starter Danny Haren and reliever Kiko Calero in the swaps.  He promoted right fielder Nick Swisher, first baseman Dan Johnson, and starter Joe Blanton and closer Huston Street from the team’s farm system to solve other team problems.  In the midst of a rebuilding program and with the eighth lowest payroll in all of baseball, Beane gave the Athletics the tools to win 88 games and compete into September. 

In Detroit, Dave Dombrowski equipped the Tigers with solid rookies like Craig Monroe, Chris Shelton and Curtis Granderson and enough veterans to keep them around .500 into the last week of August.  And Brian Cashman of the Yankees deserves praise for his mid-season salvaging his team’s chances.

When off-season acquisitions Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright, Paul Quantrill and Tony Womack all floundered early, Cashman mined into the nearly-barren upper reaches of his farm system to strike gold with rookies Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang and journeyman Aaron Small.  He then traded for Shawn Chacon, who righted the teams listing rotation. 

Toronto’s J.P. Ricciardi, St. Louis Walt Jocketty and the Los Angeles Angels’ Bill Stoneman also did a fine job in their 2005 roles.