Aside from the degree of contrition Hinch showed in his statement, he's someone who a team would potentially hire for an off-the-field role in a front office, be it as a farm director or doing player personnel work or whatever. There's less attention on him in such a role.
-
-
Show this thread
-
Cora, meanwhile, managed in Puerto Rico, did TV work, was a coach...like Hinch, he's someone who has done a variety of things in baseball in his life. I expect he'll manage in winter leagues again. He's someone who would be a viable hire in front office/minor league manager role.
Show this thread -
And these are the same sorts of roles Cora and Hinch would be considered for pre-scandal. If either had been fired, they'd be in demand, not just as a major league manager, but in lower-profile roles. And they both have experience being something other than top guy on org chart.
Show this thread -
Luhnow, however, first worked in baseball as a 37 year old. He was recruited by the Cardinals as a guy with an MBA from Northwestern who was a consultant with McKinsey and was an exec with a couple of companies. He came in as basically a lateral hire from the business world.
Show this thread -
Luhnow was hired by Cards ownership to be the "analytics guy" and came in as a Vice President. He had various roles with the Cardinals, but they all involved managing a department, and while he was theoretically under the general manager in St. Louis, he was the owner's guy.
Show this thread -
Then he was hired by the Astros in December, 2011, to head up their baseball operations. Jim Crane gave him the keys and told him to go do his thing. For the last 8+ years, he's had total control of the baseball operations of the Astros, and answered only to the owner.
Show this thread -
So Luhnow entered the field of baseball relatively late in life, has only had two real gigs in MLB, and in both, he ultimately didn't have to answer to anyone except the owner. Walt Jocketty lost a power battle with Luhnow in STL and was fired:https://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/jeff-gordon/next-step-for-cards-stop-the-infighting/article_ccf3070c-dbb0-11df-b27c-0017a4a78c22.html …
Show this thread -
So let's assume that Luhnow serves his suspension, and in January, 2021, is ready to return to baseball. If you are a g.m. or a president of baseball operations, why would you want to bring in someone with Luhnow's history of infighting and toxic culture to work for you?
Show this thread -
I mean, its been pretty widely reported that Luhnow is not liked by his peers anyway. But even if you decide you can put up with him, if you're running baseball ops, why would you want to deal with the p.r. hit, the drama, and the back-stabbing potential that Luhnow would bring?
Show this thread -
And why would Luhnow want to do that? He ran the Astros for almost a decade, was at the top of his field, built the best team in baseball...is he really going to want to go run a department and answer to a non-owner boss and have to fit into someone else's system?
Show this thread -
So if Luhnow returns to baseball, it will be in a role where he has carte blanche and total control and answers only to the owner. Given the p.r. nightmare surrounding him, given Manfred made a point of calling him out for fostering a toxic culture, will anyone do that?
Show this thread -
Yes, owners want to win. But is anyone going to, a year from now, right before spring training, look at all the baggage he brings, know hiring Luhnow means crossing Manfred and pissing off other owners, and decide to bring him on board anyway?
Show this thread -
And the final question I don't think anyone has really asked... Does Luhnow really want to return to baseball? Is he willing to sit on the sidelines, wait a year, then hope that someone will give him a chance to return to an industry where he's ostracized?
Show this thread -
Why would Luhnow do that? He's not a baseball lifer. He has plenty of other opportunities. He doesn't have to sit at home for a year doing nothing. He can return to McKinsey, join a V.C. firm, run a private company...he can make millions away from MLB.
Show this thread -
The assumption that Luhnow will return to MLB after his suspension assumes that, not only will one of the 30 teams want to hire him and give him the authority he'd want, but that he wants to return to baseball, rather than doing something else.
Show this thread -
And maybe he does. Maybe he loves the game and wants to come back and redeem himself. Maybe he can't quit it. But it seems more likely Luhnow would say he's been to the top of the mountain, and he'd rather move on to something new.
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.