Philadelphia Phillies general manager Sam Fuld recently held an extensive interview called “Executive Access” with Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
Here’s a sampling of some the highlights from the interview:
On being surprised that he got the GM job with the Phillies: “Yeah, I think so. I really had just been focused on doing the best job that I could do in my current role. It had barely been 12 months in my role, and the integrated baseball performance department had just been launched. I was really excited and felt like we were headed in the right direction despite the COVID adversity; we were developing something really special. I had a narrowly focused attention toward the task at hand, which was to help launch a department that we thought was going to be really valuable for the organization.
“I was surprised. Dave (Dombrowski) did a great job when he came on board of just making the rounds, making phone calls (and) learning about our people in our organization as quickly as possible. When we first spoke, we had a wonderful conversation. I had never met Dave and had no history with him, so it was good to understand who he is and what he’s about. It also gave me an opportunity to speak about who I am and what player information is, what integrated baseball performance is. I felt like we had a bond immediately and that this was the start of something special -- but I didn't think much more of it. Then he followed up and asked for me to interview for the GM role, which was flattering. I appreciated the opportunity.”
On the most challenging aspect of the GM role: “I think just getting my head around how my day-to-day was going to change. Going back to when I first took my first job with the Phillies, I thought maybe way down the road at some point in time, I can put myself in a position to be a decision-maker in the organization. Frankly, I hadn't thought too long and hard about what my life would be like as a general manager, so it happened pretty abruptly. The challenge was departing from my previous role and making sure that all the momentum that we had building in that department kept rolling.”
On how his experience as a former player helps in this executive role: “Empathy and understanding of the challenges of being a player is an important part of this role that certainly doesn't require a playing background to appreciate, but I think I will always remember the struggles that I went through as a player and I will always appreciate the challenges that exist in the clubhouse that maybe you don't appreciate without having lived it. Hopefully that gives me some credibility. I don't know how many players down there remember watching me play, but at the very least, if you can speak the language and appreciate some of the challenges they go through, that hopefully gives you a little bit more credibility to seek advantages that would be otherwise challenging.”
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