Mark Shapiro new CEO of Jays
Cleveland will be left behind for ‘compelling and unique opportunity’
TORONTO — In his fond farewell to Cleveland, Mark Shapiro stressed his need for a new challenge. And with a new challenge comes the need to “sometimes be a little uncomfortable,” he said.
His new job as president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays will undoubtedly fulfil both of those needs.
Shapiro’s appointment, which takes effect at the end of the season, has generated universal acclaim. He is widely respected throughout Major League Baseball as a smart, progressive, people-oriented executive with a long, impressive resume covering both the baseball operations and business areas of running a ball club. Of his 24 years with Cleveland, only the past five — when he was president — involved the business side. Shapiro said he “outgrew” the Cleveland job.
As the Indians’ general manager, then president, he worked with one of baseball’s lowest payrolls. With the Jays, he will inherit MLB’s 10th-highest payroll, which undoubtedly was a major factor in luring him from Cleveland.
One of his challenges — and perhaps a source of some discomfort, at least initially — will come in his transition from a traditional familyowned team to a club owned by an enormous media conglomerate. Rogers Communications also happens to be a public company with a far more complex structure and approvals process than Shapiro was accustomed to in Cleveland.
Shapiro knows that going in. Whether it’s possible for one to fully comprehend the impact of those differences, perhaps that is what he had in mind Monday when he referred to “just how compelling and unique the opportunity in Toronto is.”
“I feel like, throughout all of professional sports, this is one that fits my skill set,” he said during his Cleveland news conference. “It fits what provides fulfilment for me on a daily basis … I’m a lot about waking up every single day and wanting to be better, wanting to grow. To do that, you have to be challenged.”
Shapiro, 48, will replace Paul Beeston, 70, who was the Jays’ first employee in 1976 and who went on to serve two separate terms as president and CEO.
By announcing Shapiro’s appointment now, Rogers eliminated the uncertainty surrounding Beeston’s successor, which had prevailed since last winter’s ham-handed attempts to lure White Sox executive Kenny Williams, then Orioles’ GM Dan Duquette and, in the process, unceremoniously dumping Beeston.
Now, the suddenly successful Jays’ team enters a new era with longterm stability in the president’s office and Beeston will retire with full honours, as he deserves.
Shapiro’s immediate tasks will include overseeing more than $250 million in Rogers Centre upgrades during the next five years, including the potential installation of a “real grass” playing surface by 2018.
In a news release, Rogers said Shapiro — “in an effort to minimize distraction during the team’s playoff run” — will not comment on his new job until he assumes office.
Presumably, that means several obvious questions will remain unanswered for now. Among them: ❚ Will general manager Alex Anthopoulos, architect of the current Jays’ surge, receive a contract extension when his contract expires Oct. 31? Will Anthopoulos want to stay or become a free agent? A Rogers spokesperson told The Associated Press on Monday that ownership would “love to extend Alex.” The two sides have talked about that, “but frankly we’re all focused on playing great baseball right now and winning,” the spokesperson said. ❚ Related to those questions: How much involvement will Shapiro, a former GM and assistant GM, have in baseball operations decisions? In Cleveland, he left the GM responsibilities to Chris Antonetti, whom he personally groomed for the job, but had the final say on major player personnel decisions. ❚ Will Shapiro’s arrival mean the end of the Jays’ five-year ceiling on player contracts? In Cleveland, two recent contracts — for former Blue Jay Yan Gomes and Jason Kipnis — cover six years. ❚ Related: Will Shapiro, with ownership’s blessing, make a serious bid to keep David Price in the fold after his rental contract runs out after the season? ❚ Will Shapiro bring a new emphasis on advanced metrics to the Jays’ scouting and player development areas? He helped build a strong analytics team in Cleveland. (In fact, after the 2013 season, the Jays hired a baseball operations analyst, Jason Pare, from Cleveland to beef up their own department.)
After starting as an assistant in baseball operations, Shapiro advanced to minor-league co-ordinator, assistant GM and GM before taking over as president in 2010. Along the way, he has developed strong ties to the commissioner’s office and was one of the long-shot names briefly mentioned as a candidate to succeed Bud Selig before MLB owners anointed Rob Manfred last January.
Shapiro was executive of the year in 2005 and 2007, years in which Cleveland topped 90 wins. In 2007, the Indians fell one win shy of earning a World Series berth.
Having made what he called an “incredibly difficult and painful decision,” he had good things to say about his new home.
“Toronto is a world-class city and sports mecca, with an exciting ball club that has support from Canadians all across the country,” he said in the news release. “The Toronto Blue Jays are a first-rate organization with outstanding leadership from Paul Beeston and a firm commitment from ownership to field a winning team.”
Blue Jays fans have heard about that commitment for years, but only now are beginning to see it manifested on the field. Shapiro’s job is to keep that going, while fixing up an old stadium and navigating the intricate channels of an unfamiliar ownership. jlott@nationalpost.com Twitter.com/LottOnBaseball