Dave Dombrowski
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David Dombrowski (born July 27, 1956) is the current president, CEO, and general manager of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball.
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[edit] Early career
Dombrowski briefly attended Cornell University before transferring to Western Michigan University, where he earned a degree in Business Administration. He began his career with the Chicago White Sox in 1978. He moved up the ladder to assistant general manager by his late 20s, but was purged during Ken Harrelson's unsuccessful one-year reign (1986) as the Chisox' front-office boss. But the firing proved to be a blessing. Dombrowski joined the Montreal Expos front office as director of player development for the 1987 season, and on July 5, 1988, he became, at age 31, Montreal's general manager — the youngest in MLB at the time.
Dombrowski built up the Expos' farm system during his term. The team enjoyed .500 or better seasons from 1988-90 but struggled on the field in 1991. Concurrently, the National League expanded to 14 teams, with two new franchises to begin play in 1993. One of those teams, the Florida Marlins, recruited Dombrowski to become its first general manager; he was appointed on September 19, 1991.
[edit] With the Florida Marlins
Dombrowski would spend more than a decade in Miami, working under owners H. Wayne Huizenga and John W. Henry. Although he built a sound minor league system, the Marlins, with Jim Leyland as their manager, achieved their first great success — the 1997 NL pennant and world championship — with a team composed of many high-salaried players signed as free agents. The following year, in 1998, Dombrowski presided over Huizenga's mandated fire sale of those veteran players, and the Marlins sank into a half-decade of obscurity. Nevertheless, the Marlins managed to rebuild behind a nucleus of young players when Henry sold the club in 2001 to purchase the Boston Red Sox. In 2003 the Marlins, consisting chiefly of players Dombrowski had acquired, won the World Series.
[edit] With the Tigers
Prior to the 2002 season, Dombrowski was hired as president/CEO of the rebuilding Tigers by owner Mike Ilitch. He initially kept incumbent general manager Randy Smith in place, but when Detroit lost 106 games in 2002, Dombrowski relieved Smith of his duties and assumed the GM role as well.
Since Dombrowski's arrival, the Tigers' fortunes have dramatically changed. However, it wasn't an easy process. With high-priced players like Damion Easley, Dean Palmer, Matt Anderson, Bobby Higginson and Craig Paquette not living up their contracts, Dombrowski admitted some displeasure with the reclamation process early on when he said:
“I love Dean Palmer ... if you can trade him tomorrow, give me a call. Damion Easley — I love him. ... He’s been hot. He’s still not hitting .200. ... Matt Anderson. Pretty good closer when he’s healthy. Can you trade Matt Anderson tomorrow? I’d love to see you try. Again, give me a call. ... Bobby Higginson, who’s a solid player, he’s going to make $11.85 million next year. YOU try to trade him. … Craig Paquette — if you can trade him, call me tomorrow — is making $2.75 million next year.”
In 2003, the club lost an American League-record 119 games, one fewer loss than the MLB record set by the 1962 New York Mets. Three years later, the 2006 Tigers, led by manager Leyland, won their first AL pennant since 1984. Along the way, they won the AL wild card, defeated the favored New York Yankees in four games in the division series, then swept the Oakland Athletics in the American League Championship Series. In the 2006 World Series, they were defeated in five games by the St. Louis Cardinals.
In addition to bringing Leyland out of semi-retirement, Dombrowski presided over the acquisition and development of a corps of hard-throwing young pitchers, and signed free agents such as catcher Iván Rodríguez, left-handed pitcher Kenny Rogers, and outfielder Magglio Ordóñez, whose ninth-inning home run in ALCS Game 4 catapulted Detroit to the pennant.
[edit] Personal life
He is married to Karie Dombrowski, who worked as an ESPN reporter from 1988 to 1990. They have two children. [1]
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Bill Stoneman |
Montreal Expos General Manager 1987–1991 |
Succeeded by Dan Duquette |
| Preceded by first general manager |
Florida Marlins General Manager 1991–2001 |
Succeeded by Larry Beinfest |
| Preceded by Randy Smith |
Detroit Tigers General Manager 2002– |
Succeeded by incumbent |
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