Enter The Baseball America Executive Database
Welcome to the Baseball America Executive Database, the first complete and searchable listing of baseball front office executives ever compiled.
I, assistant Michael Groopman and web guru Kevin Goldstein have spent six months gathering and coding all the information we could to build this resource for the baseball community. The following should allow you to use and enjoy its contents more fully.
1) The database is designed to allow anyone -- fans, writers and executives -- to locate information like: Who made up the front office of the 1975-76 Big Red Machine, and who was its general manager? (It was Bob Howsam.) From there, you can click on Howsam's name to see his yearly employment history, and assess how he worked his way up the baseball ladder. You can discover people he worked below, and then follow their hyperlinks (as well as those of other teams) to see how all executives and club front offices have evolved.
2) To keep the project somewhat contained for now, only positions that relate to baseball operations are included, from the owner down to minor league field coordinator. (Area scouts, crosscheckers, instructors and business staff will be added when time permits.) Full front offices are identified for clubs from 1960 on, while general managers are listed since 1950, which is roughly when the position had evolved to something similar to today.
3) Our primary goal was to identify the general manager of every team in every season. This was shockingly tricky and time-consuming, as rarely does the GM actually have that title; he usually has been "VP of player personnel" or something more cryptic. To make sure we finger the right man, we consulted contemporary newspaper reports to assess who had final authority over trades, signings, etc. The result is the most complete and accurate list of GMs ever compiled; even team media guides have many errors and omissions, which we have sought to correct.
4) Because someone's title can say little about his or her role with an organization -- "director of player personnel," for instance, has been used for positions ranging from general manager to traveling secretary -- we list both a person's actual title and functional title, i.e., general manager, assistant GM, scouting director, minor league operations, etc. This greatly assists in understanding the role everyone played in a particular operation.
5) When we list, for example, members of the 1974 Orioles front office, that almost always means the executives as of about January 1 of that year. If team replaces its president or scouting director after that date, it will not be reflected until the following year. There are two exceptions to this: One, because GMs were our focus, we have identified all mid-year changes, and also identified the hiring and firing dates whenever possible. Two, we have begun the process of doing the same for ownership sales; while dates there can be more murky, we have included what we have found so far.
6) We have identified owners and scouting directors (i.e., the person responsible for the draft) whenever possible. Some have not been clearly identifiable, so none for that team is listed at this time.
7) Biographical data -- birthdate, college attended, etc., has been provided for as many GMs as possible. In time, we hope to gather such information for everyone who has ever worked in a front office.
8) In that regard, while we have taken a giant first step in building this database, it remains a collaborative effort between us and the baseball community, including you. There will be mistakes. If you are an executive who can make a correction or update your own personal employment history, or if you're simply a fan or researcher with a correction or addition to submit, please send it to us at execdb@baseballamerica.com. Please remember that we have gone to great lengths to compile accurate information, so proof of your contribution's accuracy is always appreciated.
9) Finally, enjoy. We know we have.