Back in early October of 2014, Colorado Rockies General Manager Dan O’Dowd, who had gone to work at 20th and Blake for the previous 15 years, “stepped down” as the Rockies GM, much to the delight of a frustrated fan base. After overseeing a rebuilding project and doing a lot of wheeling and dealing in his early days, O’Dowd settled in and helped lead Colorado to a pair of playoff appearances, including the famous “Rocktober” World Series run in 2007. Still, disgruntled fans wanted a consistent contender, and the Rockies weren’t that with O’Dowd in charge. After a lot of complaining, they got their wish.
What they didn’t get was any substantial change in organizational philosophy. O’Dowd’s replacement, Jeff Bridich, was promoted from within – a trademark move of Rockies ownership that values long-term loyalty from employees more than pretty much anything else. Bridich had joined the franchise 2004 and was fully versed in “the Rockies way.”
Under Bridich – and mostly led by players O’Dowd brought into the organization – Colorado made two more playoff appearances, including an improbable Wild Card win over the Chicago Cubs in 2018. During the Bridich tenure, the front office spent more money, although they didn’t spend it very wisely.
So now, less than seven years later, Bridich is departing during the season (and yes, the timing of this is incredibly strange) “stepping down” after 17 years with the organization, according to the official announcement, just as his predecessor did. (No one ever gets fired by the Rockies.)
Should Rockies fans celebrate, or get their hopes up that better days are ahead? Probably not, but you never know.
After the Rockies tab someone from inside the building to be the interim GM, the question(s) will become: Who will fill the full time job? What will Rockies ownership choose to do now? Will they stick with “the Rockies way” and promote someone from within the organization to the full time gig, thereby changing the name on the door but not much else? Or, might they finally, for the first time since they hired O’Dowd away from the Cleveland Indians in the previous century, look outside their bubble for a GM with a different perspective?
As shocking as the Bridich announcement was – and no one saw this coming, not even people inside the organization – it will be equally shocking if Rockies ownership changes course and actually looks outward for a new GM. That’s not this ownership’s style. At all.
Of course they should. That’s obvious to everyone who follows Major League Baseball.
So, what if they did? Who could they look to hire?
The answer is just a short drive away.
Dan Evans is the former GM of the Los Angeles Dodgers, having spent 35 years working in baseball front offices. His .546 winning percentage as a GM remains the second best in Dodger history. He also spent 20 years with the Chicago White Sox. Evans currently lives in Boulder, Colo., which equates to about a 40 minute drive to Coors Field.
He’d be a great fit for a number of reasons, including his pioneering work in baseball analytics. He watches the Rockies play on a regular basis and has a pretty good idea where he would start if the job became his.
“An overall culture change with the organization is necessary,” Evans told me last month for an article for Mile High Sports Magazine. “There has to be a different approach because the current one hasn’t worked. There has to be an examination of the philosophies and the decision-making processes because it’s just evident that there’s been a lot of failed decision making and that usually comes from the process itself.”
Evans is currently leading the “Field of Dreams” game project for MLB. On August 12, the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox will play a real life big league game in the cornfields of Dyersville, Iowa. This is Evan’s baby at the moment. But once that baby’s been delivered, he becomes available. And he IS willing to talk with the Rockies brass if they want to talk to him.
Evans would bring an increased emphasis on advanced analytics to the job. He was one of the pioneers of analytics during his days in Chicago and believes the current Rockies approach, which has shown no inclination to embrace that trend, is flawed.
“One of the ways you get better is by combining analytics and scouting and baseball awareness. Having the smallest analytics staff in the game is counter-intuitive to that. That’s just a bad business model as far as I’m concerned.
“I cannot imagine how difficult it is to play uphill 365 days a year when every other single organization in the game has more information than you do.”
It will be a major upset if Evans gets a phone call from the Rockies. Since Dick Monfort took over leadership of the organization from the late Jerry McMorris in the mid 2000’s, the Rockies have pretty much operated in a bubble. But even the slightest notion that the bubble could burst, and that real changes could take place is tantalizing for Rockies fans.
Just don’t get your hopes up.
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