Thought people might be interested in hearing how there are some common philosophies between the Rockies, D-Backs, and the Indians.
Hart's influence alive with remaining teams
Jim Ingraham, JIngraham@News-Herald.com
10/12/2007
BOSTON - What does the man who has propagated more general managers than any other executive in the major leagues look for in a hire?
"The thing I always tried to do," said John Hart, "was hire guys who were smarter than me."
Today, Hart's guys are everywhere. He's the baseball version of the Bill Parcells coaching tree.
Three of the teams in baseball's final four are being run by general managers trained by Hart: the Indians under Mark Shapiro, the Rockies under Dan O'Dowd, and the Diamondbacks under Josh Byrnes.
Another Hart protégé, Neal Huntington, was recently hired by the Pirates as general manager. Chris Antonetti, Shapiro's current assistant, is widely regarded as a general manager-in-waiting for some organization. And Paul DePodesta, currently working in the front office of the Padres, is a former Dodgers general manager.
Incredibly, in the spring of 1999, Shapiro, O'Dowd, Byrnes, Huntington, Antonetti and DePodesta were all members of the Indians' front office, under Hart. No wonder the Tribe won five consecutive Central Division titles. "It's hard to believe that the long downtrodden Cleveland Indians would spawn so many great players and so many front office people from that era," said Hart, speaking by phone from Arizona.
It was the vision of Hart, his assistant at the time, O'Dowd, Indians owner Richard Jacobs and a cash cow new ballpark in 1994 that launched the Indians on that great ride through the mid to late 1990s. Five consecutive division titles and two American League pennants stamped the Indians as a model franchise. It was Hart and Co. who pioneered the use of multi-year contracts to buy players out of their arbitration years, thereby ensuring cost certainty for the ballclub, and establishing a stability of personnel that allowed fans to attach emotionally to the players in an era of such rampant free-agent movement that, as Jerry Seinfeld once said, "You root for the uniform, not the players."
The Indians were the feel-good, run-right franchise in those years, a model that other teams tried to emulate. And the man at the top of the flow chart, just beneath Jacobs, was John Hart.
A decade later, Hart's disciples have scattered to all corners of the major leagues, running their own teams, and in many cases running them right to the tops of their divisions.
"I'm happy for all the guys. They all deserve it," he said. "I still have a very close relationship with Mark, and I'm proud and happy for him. That was a tough gig following the success we had in Cleveland, but Mark has done great things. With Danny, he had to make some tough calls out in Colorado, but he's a smart guy and a good person. I'm glad ownership stuck with him. And Josh, like Mark and Danny, was put in a leadership role, and they've all kicked the door in."
Hart said there is one common philosophical thread that runs through all of his guys.
"They all believe in player development, because that's where they came from," he said. "Mark and Danny ran our farm system, and Josh was our scouting director. So their success doesn't surprise me. The formula works." Hart remains closest to Shapiro, his hand-picked successor when he stepped down as Tribe general manager following the 2001 season. "I never wavered on Mark," said Hart. "It didn't take long when we hired him (in 1992) to realize he was a hard worker, a great communicator, and had an unshakable resolve about where he wanted to go. And he was a good listener. He also knew, when he became general manager, what he was getting into, that he wasn't going to be able to just snap his fingers and get it done. It was going to take a lot of hard work."
Hart said the template for his hires was set by his first two, O'Dowd and Shapiro.
"I tried to find sharp guys who had an athletic background, great character and were hard workers," he said. "All of these guys had that. Plus they were all very ambitious, but weren't up front about it. They were very loyal and worked hard to earn your respect." Now 59, Hart is currently working as a consultant with the Texas Rangers. He says he has watched many of the playoff games on television this month, including the Indians' win over the Yankees.
"I pull for all of the guys today, but I have to say my heart is in Cleveland," he said. "I spent 13, 14 years there. The Dolans were great to me. How could I not pull for Cleveland?"
Shapiro has invited Hart back to Cleveland for a postseason game, but so far Hart has declined.
"I don't want to jinx them," he said.
Original Post
Billy Ripkin told a story that fans used to heckle him by telling him he would never be as good as his brother. His response was "No kidding, but nobody else is as good as him either" 
