Looking back: Dan Duquette was The Right GM For The Orioles

[Jordan Tuwiner]

On November 6, 2011, ofahn posted the thread: Is Dan Duquette The Right GM For The Orioles?

ofahn concluded is post with this:

This is a "no lose" proposition for Dan Duqette. If he is successful he'll be a genius. If he fails most of baseball will give him a pass because of Angelos. I believe he will improve the team if Angelos gives him a reasonable budget and gets out of his way.

This has all turned out to be true. Duquette succeeded and all of Baltimore views him as a hero.

Matt P nailed it:

I'm very excited about this announcement. I think he is a better fit than LaCava and that LaCava turning us down may have been a blessing in disguise. I'm really looking forward to this off season and I think by 2013 we will be serious contenders.

A_K was not thrilled, but of course we do not know what LaCava would have done.

I'm not too crazy about it. Seems like if you're hiring someone who's been out of baseball for 10 years after getting turned down by two up-and-comers who had the audacity to assume they'd be able to select who worked for them, you're hiring someone who's intimately aware of who signs his paycheck.

My outlook for the future of the organization was already pretty bleak, so I'm not too distraught. But I can't say I'm even remotely excited about this signing. Would have greatly preferred virtually every name that was mentioned or rumored as part of our search, especially DiPoto or Lacava.

My thoughts at the time:

While I would have preferred Dipoto or Lacava, Duquette is not a bad choice. I really feel he is going to overhaul the player development system and I am sure these changes will be apparent when I visit next year's spring training.

The coaches will be giving more instruction; normally they are there more just as guides, and give little knowledge to all of the players. They tend to choose favorites and talk to specific players. I feel that Duquette will really ensure that coaches step up to the next level.

Today, I am certain everyone is pleased with the Duquette despite missing out on Dipoto and LaCava. Smart move by Angelos.

[Old Sneakers]

At the time I was sort of scratching me head as he'd been out of baseball for so long. Now after 1 year it's pretty obvious he could at least perform competently. The job however is not done and we should avoid throwing any parades. But if he keeps finding gems like Chen and Gonzalez we should begin to feel good about moving forward each season.

Still a ton of work to do though.

[ofahn]

if he keeps finding gems like Chen and Gonzalez we should begin to feel good about moving forward each season.

What I find most reassuring is that he actually HIRED the guy that found Gonzales. The GM alone won't make a team a winner. HIRING the right people and trusting them to do their jobs WILL.

[osforlife]

He's very awkward and doesn't seem to handle people very well lol. But alot of his moves have worked out. Now...RESIGN RICK PETERSEN

[Matt P]

This is my favorite thread of all time

[LA Detective]

I cant believe he didnt get any votes for Exec of the Year...He came in a week before the GM Meetings last year and well behind the others and made a huge impact.

In late July I rated him a C+...he had done some very encouraging things but we still had the same holes that we have had for a couple years..poor overall defense, no leadoff hitter cuz we had no back up plan for BR getting hurt, and the hole of 3b,LF and 1b...

From around the trading deadline on (even though we really didnt do anything big that day), he filled all the above holes one way or another...Then suddently the starting pitching depth he worked on since Day 1 starting coming thru....

Then he traded for Saunders who was doing horrible at the time but look what he did for us..

He did this with NM out much of the year and with the loss of Hammel our closest to an ACE gone for much of the run.

I cant see rating him any less than an A..Given the late start he had and all the holes needed to be handled, I couldnt imagine him doing much more to maximize where we could of been this year...

That being said, this coming winter will give a huge test...we have cards to play with now...what will he do? will he discard the right people or keep the right ones? Will he go get the right ones?

I think the fact that he and Buck seem to work so well together (rarity in ML..I actually think it was Buck who made the decision to hire him) I have the confidence they will take us to the next level next year and the future..

[ofahn]

I cant believe he didnt get any votes for Exec of the Year

Had me scratching my head, too.

[steve]

Dan Duqette wants to be like Billy Beane. Were lucky to have Dan Duqette just like The A's are very lucky to have Billy Beane. But watch out if Dan Duqette becomes sucessful other teams will offer him an high price. And im not sure he would turn it down unlike the Red Sox offered Billy Beane an huge contract and he turned it down cause he wants to get the A's into the World Series.

[ofahn]

Dan Duqette wants to be like Billy Beane. Were lucky to have Dan Duqette just like The A's are very lucky to have Billy Beane. But watch out if Dan Duqette becomes sucessful other teams will offer him an high price. And im not sure he would turn it down unlike the Red Sox offered Billy Beane an huge contract and he turned it down cause he wants to get the A's into the World Series.

Except, of course, if he's still under contract.

[Old Sneakers]

Dan Duqette wants to be like Billy Beane. Were lucky to have Dan Duqette just like The A's are very lucky to have Billy Beane. But watch out if Dan Duqette becomes sucessful other teams will offer him an high price. And im not sure he would turn it down unlike the Red Sox offered Billy Beane an huge contract and he turned it down cause he wants to get the A's into the World Series.

He was completely "Out" of baseball. To Peter Angelos' credit he brought him in when likely few teams would have thought to interview him.

I would bet that if DD wanted to become a GM and turn any franchise into a perennial contender and prove himself among the best. He's in his dream job. I would bet that the more success he has, the more leeway he ends up getting and fatter contract as well.

Whatever his situation in Boston was years ago... He was brushed aside. He's got a chance to build new, long lasting relationships and a track record where he is. Why even suspect going elsewhere is something he would entertain? Money? My guess is he knows he will get more when he's proven worthy of it.

[steve]

Look how the Rays improved. Their GM started stacking young talent in their farm system. Rays have very good scouts. It time for Duqette start hiring good scouts and build our farm system in top notch talent. Remember the 1970 Rochester Red Wings? That team could play against any major league club. Norfolk isnt anywhere near that. If you can turn Norfolk Tides into the closest thing to a major league ball club then the O's have a bright future.

[Jordan Tuwiner]

Look how the Rays improved. Their GM started stacking young talent in their farm system. Rays have very good scouts. It time for Duqette start hiring good scouts and build our farm system in top notch talent. Remember the 1970 Rochester Red Wings? That team could play against any major league club. Norfolk isnt anywhere near that. If you can turn Norfolk Tides into the closest thing to a major league ball club then the O's have a bright future.

Duquette has done that. The depth last year was obvious.

[thezeroes]

Look how the Rays improved. Their GM started stacking young talent in their farm system. Rays have very good scouts. It time for Duqette start hiring good scouts and build our farm system in top notch talent. Remember the 1970 Rochester Red Wings? That team could play against any major league club. Norfolk isnt anywhere near that. If you can turn Norfolk Tides into the closest thing to a major league ball club then the O's have a bright future.

You do realise that in 1968 the Major leagues had only 20 teams. With ten less teams securing players from the Amateur pool the quality was greater for some of the better established franchises. Also of note was that Free Agency did not come into vogue until 1975 so players were retained without the fear of losing them by just renewing their contracts.

Through 1968 there was only 20 players selected in each round. In 1969 the total of selecting teams was expanded to 24 teams. With this in mind, a player that was selected in fourth round in 1969 would have been left on the board for a team in the fifth round in 1968. This would make for a diluted draft pick in all subsequent rounds since 1969 and that is before the last round of expansion to get us to 30 teams. Also add into this the old "Draft and Follow", retained rights to players for a longer period of time, and compensation picks.

In short it was easier to retain players, keep the players you already had, and to draft from a larger pool of players. All this enabled teams to build their respective farm teams when the parent club had players that played for more than five years and were all-stars at their respective positions.

Sorry about the rambling but to compare 1980 to 2012 is a futile attempt to live in the past and you should not try to compare it to today's roster management through out the Minors and Majors.

[steve]

Duquette has done that. The depth last year was obvious.

Well Norfolk didn't make it to the international league championship and they were 9 games out of first place. 1970 red Wings were international league champions. The only great club the O's have is the Baysox.

[thezeroes]

Well Norfolk didn't make it to the international league championship and they were 9 games out of first place. 1970 red Wings were international league champions. The only great club the O's have is the Baysox.

You do not have to have a winning record in the minors and make the playoffs to be deemed a success. How many different players made the trip from Norfolk to Baltimore and back while giving outstanding performances?? Norfolk's roster will always be in flux because of need at the MLB Level therefore having a winning record is secondary to feeding Baltimore replacement players when injuries occur. I Know this will be lost on you MR Ox but it needed to be said.