“The process that the Dodgers’ front office utilized in not just evaluating players and developing players but in attacking games, utilizing the roster, strategizing how you go game by game, pitch by pitch — that, I think is new in a lot of respects,” Kasten said. “It’s becoming more and more the norm, but no one now has a better grounding in it than Alex does, and I think it’s because of what he’s picked up in the last two years.”
Does that mean Anthopoulos was completely immersed in analytics as well as scouting?
“He’s not, necessarily; he doesn’t have to be the analytics guy, but he knows what it requires,” Kasten said. “And he does know that it works. I’d like to compete against people who still think it doesn’t work, frankly. For sure, it works. It’s just information. Now, you have to get the right people behind you (to develop and apply it) and he will, because who doesn’t want to work with Alex? I mean, he really is a good guy, so you’ll have no trouble there.”
The other key point, especially given the recent front-office discord, especially under Coppolella but also Frank Wren before him: Everyone who knows Anthopoulos said the same thing, that he will actively listen to all of those around him, get everyone involved and not be inflexible or closed to new ideas.
“He’s an outstanding baseball man and an even better person,” said Perry Minasian, who was hired as Braves director of player personnel in September, hired away from the Blue Jays, where he was Anthopoulos’ scouting director and became close enough friends with him that he was in Anthopoulos’ wedding. “From a leadership standpoint, for where we are as an organization I think he’s a great fit. He’s going to bring energy, creativity, he’s big into creating an atmosphere where everybody can be themselves, which I think is great. He’s very collaborative as far as making decisions.
“He loves information, and he’s got the ability to take people’s opinions and filter through what he receives and actually dissect the thing that mean the most and make quality decisions. With the amount of experience that’s in Atlanta – John Hart, John Schuerholz, Bobby Cox, Terry – he’ll use those assets. He respects what people have done in the game. He’s a forward thinker, but respects what’s been done in the past and how people do it. He asks a lot of questions, which I think is a great quality to have.”
And did we mention work ethic?
“He works,” Kasten said. “He doesn’t have hobbies, this is what he does. He does it 24/7. And a lot of guys are like that, but I think he has, as I said, the great combination of scouting and analytics combined with a great personality, that’s easy for other GMs to relate to and work with. That’s how he always did the big, impressive and ambitious deals when he was in Toronto. He still has that tool in his tool kit, but I think he’s very committed to scouting and player development, which again I can’t emphasize enough – no matter how many of us utlize analytics, this business is still about scouting and player development. Always has been, always will be.”