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When the Philadelphia Phillies hired a then 67-year-old general manager named Pat Gillick 10 years ago to fix their baseball operation, it did not take long for the Hall of Famer to make the organization a contender.
Now it appears they have learned something from that move as the Phillies are very interested in making Andy MacPhail, 63, their President. Gillick took charge at the turn of the calendar year, because then President David Montgomery had health issues. Gillick said at the time the promotion from a consultant’s job would be short-lived, so MacPhail’s hiring would come as no surprise.
MacPhail would become President and then be the man to do the messy job of getting rid of current GM Ruben Amaro Jr., who widely is vilified by Phils’ fans for presiding over the demolition of a team that once won the NL East five-straight years and appeared in two World Series in three years. That now seems like a thousand years ago.
The Phillies need some out-of-the-box thinking because it is apparent Amaro still sees old solutions to new problems. Amaro recently promoted outfielder Domonic Brown from the minors despite hitting .257 in Triple-A. Amaro still sees no problem in playing Ryan Howard at first or Odubel Herrera, a second baseman by trade, in the outfield. MacPhail might see the folly of those moves, which have been so typical of the Amaro Era.
MacPhail, a one-time Chicago Cubs’ GM, would change all of that stale thinking and bring a fresh approach to the team’s many problems. MacPhail has long-standing relationships with Montgomery and Gillick and he was GM for the Minnesota Twins when that organization won the World Series in 1987 and 1991. He was most recently president of baseball operations for the Baltimore Orioles and was credited with building an Orioles’ team that made the postseason in both 2012 and 2014.
Those credentials would give the Phillies fans hope that he can do the same for them that he did for the Twins and Orioles, and the sooner MacPhail’s signature is on a contract, the brighter the future will be.
Mike Gibson is a Phillies writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @papreps , “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
