When Pat Gillick learned his name was on the ballot given to the veterans committee for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, he figured he was just taking up space.
After all, George Steinbrenner, the late, high-profile owner of the New York Yankees, was on the ballot, as was former players union boss Marvin Miller, one of the most influential figures in sports over the second half of the 20th century.
“I really thought I was just filling out the card,” Gillick said. “I never thought it would happen. Marvin Miller and George were on there as well, and I figured they had a much better chance than I would.”
Gillick figured wrong. He will be inducted Sunday along with one of his former players, Roberto Alomar, and Bert Blyleven.
Gillick was the best baseball executive of his time. He wasn’t a maniacal owner who brought as much shame to the game as glory like Steinbrenner. He wasn’t a labor negotiator who won battles for his players but brought scorn from the fans.
Gillick, 73, was a baseball man who recognized baseball talent and built great baseball teams.
After all, isn’t that the point of all this?
Gillick built winners in four different places: Toronto, Baltimore, Seattle and Philadelphia. And in case Nationals fans have forgotten, he could have done the same thing in Washington if given the chance.
A former Orioles pitching prospect, Gillick joined the expansion Toronto Blue Jays in 1976 and became their general manager two years later. His teams won five division titles and two World Series in 1992 and 1993.
He came to Baltimore after the 1995 season and turned a losing team into a two-time playoff club, winning the AL East in 1997. He left when his three-year deal was up in 1998 and became GM of the Seattle Mariners, where he traded Ken Griffey and put together teams that made playoff appearances in 2000 and 2001. The 2011 team finished a record 116-46.
Gillick retired from the Mariners in 2003 but became the Phillies’ GM after the 2005 season, building the team that won the 2008 World Series. Gillick retired after that, but he has been rumored as the next front office boss of the Chicago Cubs.
Gillick said none of the teams was built quite the same way.
“In Toronto, that was different because we were building an organization,” he said. “The next three stops was finding the pieces to fit the puzzle for the manager. Every manager has a different style.”
The Hall of Fame GM wanted to help put the pieces of the puzzle together in Washington when the Expos became the Nationals.
“If somebody asked me to do it and put things together and get things on an even keel for a while, I probably would,” Gillick told me in the fall of 2004.
Instead, baseball commissioner Bud Selig chose Jim Bowden.
I am not sure Bowden can even buy a ticket to Cooperstown.
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
