Alex Anthopoulos retired from Minute Maid Park following the Dodgers’ 13-12 loss in 10 innings to Houston in Game 5 of the 2017 World Series. His bosses in the California team’s operations office gave him permission for a mission. while his family returned to Los Angeles.
“I walked back to the hotel like preparing for an exam, trying to study everything about the Braves before the interview,” he said.
Just 16 days later, Anthopuolos was named Atlanta’s general manager. This week he’s back at Minute Maid Park after helping the Braves reach their first World Series since 1999.
Anthopoulos and Houston general manager James Click took over the reins of teams in crisis. Anthopoulos was hired six weeks after John Coppolella had to resign after the Major League Baseball investigation into violations committed by the Braves in the international player market.
Click was the third manager in the Tampa Bay Rays hierarchy when he was hired by the Astros in February 2020, three weeks after general manager Jeff Luhnow was suspended and subsequently fired for his role in the robbery scandal. signs.
Click, a 43-year-old historian who graduated from Yale University, and Anthopoulos, a 44-year-old economist who studied at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, lead organizations with veteran managers seeking their first titles in the dugout: Dusty Baker, 72, with Houston; and Brian Snitker, 66, who turns 45 in the Braves organization.
Born in Montreal, Anthopoulos began his career as an intern with the Montreal Expos, joined Toronto as a scouting coordinator and went on to become general manager in 2009. He left the team in January 2016 to become vice president of operations for the Dodgers. under the command of Andree Friedman and Farhan Zaidi. Less than two seasons later, he got his job with the Braves.
“I had been in Toronto for six years and I thought I was improving as a general manager,” he said. “Coming to LA, it was like attending a master’s degree for two years.”
Click found the way to work in Houston was surprisingly different.
“I think the hitting culture here, the way the hitters interact with each other, the way they prepare, was eye-opening for me,” Click said.
His movements during the course of the season were key to reaching the World Series.
Following the injury of Ronald Acuña Jr. and the arrest of Marcell Ozuna for domestic violence, Anthopoulos reconfigured Atlanta’s outfield cast, acquiring Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall, Jorge Soler and Joc Pederson. Rosario, Duvall and Pederson combined to produce 17 of Atlanta’s 28 runs as they dethroned the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, winning in six games. Rosario was selected as the Most Valuable Player.
Click rebuilt Houston’s bullpen with a series of trades, beginning with the acquisition of left-hander Brooks Raley from Cincinnati in August 2020, and adding Kendall Graveman, Phil Maton and Yimi Garcia in the middle of this year.
They both believe that being aggressive will pay off.
Anthopoulos reflected on what happens in a dressing room when the ambition to fight for a title is lost.
“When you run out of anything to aspire to in the last two months, they focus on putting together your fantasy football team,” he said. “They lose the desire to play. Complaints start when he feels you, recriminations. It’s a horrible thing. I’ve been through it. Many times”.
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