Anthopoulos says Jays finally found their identity
GM says intangibles meshed well with team’s obvious talent to produce season to remember
Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos made it clear on Monday he was not interested in talking about his lingering contract status — “That will be addressed at the appropriate time; the appropriate time is not today” — but the 38-year-old, ever-cagey executive, having just completed his sixth and most successful season at the Jays’ helm, did allow himself a brief moment of self-congratulation.
“I think I’m starting to hit my stride a little bit,” he offered at one point in his annual year-end news conference. “I’m starting to understand some things a little bit more.”
Anthopoulos, whose contract with the Jays expires on Saturday, was speaking of something he has touched on at various points throughout this memorable season: his growing appreciation for the intangible elements of building a team, rather than just a collection of talented individuals.
“There’s an identity for this team right now, an identity for this organization and I think it’s going to continue,” he said. “We all saw it: it was sincere, it was genuine, it was a team.”
In addition to ending the franchise’s 22year playoff drought — and in the process restoring and rewarding the faith of a desperate fan base — Anthopoulos said the team’s success this season crystallized his own sense of what he called a “Blue-Jays-type” of player, one who possesses a “team-oriented” mentality, is selfless, hard-nosed, smart, talented, athletic and plays good defence.
“It doesn’t mean it’s always going to work out, but those are things that are going to be prioritized here and I think those are the types of clubs you’re going to see here,” he said.
The transformation started in the offseason with the signing of catcher Russell Martin and the acquisition via trade of Josh Donaldson, two players highly regarded not only for their abilities on the field but also their competitiveness and reputation for getting the most out of their teammates.
It continued with the addition of Troy Tulowitzki and — however fleeting — David Price.
“By design last off-season we really targeted a certain type of player,” Anthopoulos said.
“We walked away from a lot of players that were talented and productive that didn’t fit what we were trying to do. I don’t know if as a GM I would have done that a few years ago.”
It’s hard to believe the team’s incoming president and CEO, Mark Shapiro — who officially takes over for Paul Beeston on Nov. 1 — won’t make his first order of business resigning Anthopoulos, whose heralded trade-deadline and off-season acquisitions make him a leading candidate to win Major League Baseball’s executive of the year award.
Letting Anthopoulos walk after he masterminded the franchise’s best team in more than two decades would certainly be an inauspicious start to Shapiro’s tenure in Toronto.
Whatever happens over the next week, Anthopoulos believes in the success he saw this year and hopes to replicate it, only with a better ending.
“I think this city is going to continue to have a team they’re proud of,” he said.
“By design this was a good group of guys, a likeable group of guys, that wanted to be here, that liked being here, that understood what it meant to play for not only the city, but the country as well. I know it can seem a little corny, but there’s something to that — and it’s real.”