Anatomy of a General Manager

Maybe not today, but sometime soon, a general manager in a professional sports league will be fired, and the search for a replacement will commence. From that point until the day the press conference is held announcing that replacement, the press, fans, and executives across the sports leagues will speculate as to who will be filling the position. For the fans of this club, the search is about a savior – someone that can right the ship and get the team winning. For many, they see the GM as having vast powers, and an uber-scout mind, able to cull some deep well of player knowledge for the Draft, trades, and free agent signings. Now, here’s a reality check: most GMs aren’t that person. A general manager is, for lack of a better term, a master decision maker. They are also, as the title suggests, a manager; someone who manages a staff. It is that staff that is what makes or breaks GMs. A great GM pulls together the personnel from the scouting director, assistant GMs, and, in baseba...