Dan O'Dowd

Last updated
Dan O'Dowd
Born (1959-09-06) September 6, 1959 (age 64)
Montville, New Jersey, U.S.
Alma mater Rollins College
Occupation General Manager
Organizations Colorado Rockies (1999–2014)

Dan O'Dowd (born September 6, 1959 [1] ) was the general manager of the Colorado Rockies from September 20, 1999, to October 8, 2014. Before being hired by the Rockies, he spent 15 years working for the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians, working his way from accounts manager to director of baseball operations / assistant general manager. [2]

Biography

O'Dowd was raised in Montville, New Jersey [3] and graduated from Montville Township High School in 1976. [4]

The results of O'Dowd's GM career have been mixed. Upon taking over the team, he traded fading stars Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla, and Darryl Kile, opting to build a team around pitching, speed and defense. The following season, after a surprising 82–80 run, O'Dowd signed pitchers Denny Neagle and Mike Hampton to long-term contracts. The acquisitions turned out to be disastrous for the club and were two of the worst free-agency signings in baseball history. [5] Afterwards, O'Dowd attempted to shed salary and build a foundation of young talent around franchise cornerstone Todd Helton. Under his watch, the team developed players such as Matt Holliday, Troy Tulowitzki, Jeff Francis, and Ubaldo Jiménez.

The 2007 season was arguably the most surprising run by any Rockies team, as the team won 21 of their last 22 games to force a tiebreaker against the San Diego Padres. The Rockies, who were making their first playoff appearance in 12 years, swept both the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks en route to the 2007 World Series, before losing to the Boston Red Sox. O'Dowd was rewarded with a contract extension following the team's successful playoff run.[ citation needed ] As the Rockies struggled in 2012, the Rockies restructured their front office, making Bill Geivett their director of major league operations, though O'Dowd retained the title of general manager. Following the 2014 season O'Dowd was offered a contract extension but declined the deal when he was not allowed to replace Geivett. The Rockies promoted Jeff Bridich to the role of general manager, and Geivett resigned, upset he did not get promoted to the role of GM. [6] [7]

O'Dowd currently serves as an analyst for MLB Network. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Sabean</span> Baseball player

Brian R. Sabean, nicknamed "Sabes", is a baseball executive for the New York Yankees. He serves as executive advisor to the general manager and senior vice president Brian Cashman. Before coming to the Yankees, he was the executive vice president of baseball operations of the San Francisco Giants. He served as the team's general manager for eighteen seasons, from 1997 to 2014. He succeeded general manager Bob Quinn. The Giants had a winning record in thirteen of the eighteen seasons in which Sabean served as general manager. Prior to his tenure, the team had suffered losing seasons in five out of six years. He is a native of Concord, New Hampshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willis Hudlin</span> American baseball player

George Willis Hudlin was a Major League Baseball pitcher for, most notably, the Cleveland Indians from 1926 to 1940. Hudlin did not pitch more than 10 games with any other team, although he played with three others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huston Street</span> American baseball player (born 1983)

Huston Lowell Street is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Angels.

Josh Byrnes is an American baseball executive who is senior vice president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB).

John Henry Hart Jr is an American former professional baseball executive who served as the general manager in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers and president of baseball operations for the Atlanta Braves. He also was the interim field manager of the Indians in 1989, third-base coach of the Baltimore Orioles in 1988, and a studio analyst for the MLB Network.

Marcel Ernest Lachemann is an American professional baseball executive and a former player, manager and pitching coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player, he was a relief pitcher for the Oakland Athletics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rubén Amaro Jr.</span> American baseball player

Rubén Amaro Jr. is an American former professional baseball outfielder, coach and executive. Amaro played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1991 to 1998. He was named the GM of the Philadelphia Phillies on November 3, 2008, succeeding Pat Gillick and remained in that position until September 10, 2015. He was previously the first base coach for the Boston Red Sox (2016–2017) and New York Mets (2018). He is the son of former MLB infielder and coach, Rubén Amaro Sr. Amaro is currently a color commentator on Philadelphia Phillies television broadcasts and a contributor the 94.1 WIP Morning Show in Philadelphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Apodaca</span> American baseball player and coach (born 1950)

Robert John Apodaca is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher, and an assistant to Colorado Rockies General manager Jeff Bridich. Since 2013, he has worked with pitchers in the Rockies' lower-level minor league affiliates.

Gerard Dipoto is an American baseball executive and former professional player. He is currently the president of baseball operations for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball and previously worked in front office positions for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels, and Boston Red Sox. Dipoto played in MLB for the Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, and Colorado Rockies from 1993 through 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Mozeliak</span> American baseball executive

John Mozeliak is an American baseball executive who is the president of baseball operations of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Never a professional baseball player, Mozeliak came to the Cardinals as Walt Jocketty's assistant in 1995 and became the organization's twelfth General Manager after the 2007 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Eppler</span> American baseball executive

Billy Eppler is an American baseball executive who most recently served as the general manager of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He also served as the general manager of the Los Angeles Angels from 2015 to 2020. Before that, he worked as the director of professional scouting and assistant general manager for the New York Yankees.

The History of the Colorado Rockies began in 1991 when a Major League Baseball (MLB) expansion franchise for Denver, Colorado was granted to an ownership group headed by John Antonucci. In 1993, the Colorado Rockies started play in the National League (NL) West division. Since that date, the Rockies have reached the MLB postseason four times, each time as the National League wild card team. Twice they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. In 2007, the Rockies advanced all the way to the World Series, only to be swept by the Boston Red Sox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Luhnow</span> American baseball executive

Jeff Luhnow is a Mexican-American former baseball executive and owner of Mexican club Cancún and Leganés of Spain. He worked for the St. Louis Cardinals in their scouting department from 2003 through 2011, before joining the Houston Astros in December 2011. On January 13, 2020, Luhnow was fired by the Astros after Major League Baseball suspended him for the entire 2020 season as a result of the electronic sign-stealing scandal. Prior to working in baseball, Luhnow was a business entrepreneur.

William Paige Geivett is an American professional baseball player and executive.

A. J. Preller is an American baseball executive who is the president of baseball operations and general manager of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was hired by the Padres on August 5, 2014, while serving as the assistant GM for the Texas Rangers, overseeing the player development and scouting departments and serving as a key advisor on all player acquisitions. At the time, he was 36 years old.

Jeffrey Thomas Bridich is a former American baseball executive. He was the general manager of the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball from 2014 to 2021.

David Stearns is an American baseball executive who serves as the president of baseball operations for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served in the same role for the Milwaukee Brewers, as well as the assistant general manager of MLB's Houston Astros, worked for the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, the Arizona Fall League, and in the baseball operations departments for the Cleveland Indians and New York Mets.

Bill Schmidt is an American baseball executive. He is the general manager of the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball and former coach and talent scout.

References

  1. ↑ Williamson, Christopher. "Dan O'Dowd". sabr.org. Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Baseball America - Executive Database". www.baseballamerica.com. Archived from the original on 2006-03-26.
  3. ↑ Klis, Mike. "O'Dowd no fan of dollar dominance", The Denver Post , October 22, 2000. Accessed October 24, 2007. "He is an adult now, though, much more objective about the game and no doubt considerably less emotionally attached than his childhood buddies from Montville."
  4. ↑ Hall of Fame Member Profile Dan O'Dowd Archived 2018-08-13 at the Wayback Machine , Montville Township High School. Accessed August 12, 2018. "Dan was born and raised in Montville Township. A 1976 graduate of TMHS, Dan started in baseball and was awarded All State honors in his junior year."
  5. ↑ Neyer, Rob. Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders (2006), pp. 261-264.
  6. ↑ "Bill Geivett's role breaks tradition as Rockies search for sustained succes [sic]". The Denver Post. September 2012.
  7. ↑ "Q&A: Rockies GM Bill Geivett, Part 1". 28 September 2012.
  8. ↑ "MLB Network Personalities". MLB.com .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.