Why the Giants chose Harris as GM, what his hire means for the franchise
SAN FRANCISCO – At his introductory press conference last November, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi charted a bold new course for the future of the franchise.
On his first day on the job on Monday, new general manager Scott Harris asserted himself as the co-captain for a front office that believes the Giants are headed down the right path.
“We’re going to try to compete as much as possible on and off the field to put us in a position to transform, like we did in Chicago,” said Harris, who left his role as the assistant general manager of the Cubs.
Harris, 32, was hired as the Cubs’ director of baseball operations in 2012 at 25 and ascended into his previous role in January, 2018. He worked under Cubs executive Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer, two of baseball’s most well-respected front office figures who helped the franchise break its 108-year World Series title drought in 2016.
The Cubs are considered one of the sport’s most innovative franchises and were one of the first organizations to invest heavily in modern technology. Harris played a pivotal role in overseeing Chicago’s research and development team and will likely have a hand in managing a similar unit in San Francisco.
Harris’ position with the Giants comes with an intentionally broad job description, as neither he nor Zaidi want to limit the scope of his responsibilities. In Chicago, Epstein and Hoyer allowed Harris to be involved in decision-making processes related to transactions, player development, international scouting and more.
“Anywhere we found opportunities to compete, they would encourage you to do that,” Harris said. “That’s how I saw my job in
Chicago and I don’t see it too differently here in San Francisco.”
As president of baseball operations, Zaidi will still have the final say on all transactions and other major front office decisions. The hiring of Harris gives the Giants’ another key leadership presence who has a diverse background of experience, which he’ll be expected to build upon in San Francisco.
“We talked a lot about just getting the person in this role who could bring the most positive impact to the organization,” Zaidi said. “To be able to cast as wide of a net as possible, it was important to be flexible about what that person’s qualifications and strengths were.”
Zaidi and Harris didn’t have much of a pre-existing relationship, noting they once met briefly at a Winter Meetings, but the duo share many similarities.
Neither played baseball in high school, but both have economics degrees as Zaidi earned his doctorate from UC Berkeley while Harris earned his MBA at Northwestern. Both began their careers in baseball as low-level front office employees who ascended into leadership positions with high-profile teams and both arrived in San Francisco with a connection to the region.
Zaidi spent his first decade in the game with the Oakland A’s while Harris was born in Redwood City, Calif. and attended Menlo School.
“I’m really excited to reconnect with San Francisco,” Harris said. “The bond between this organization and the community is special and I’m excited to jump back into it. I’m excited to live in the city and to be back home.”