The Detroit Tigers began closing the door on the Al Avila era on August 10th when the team fired the former general manager. On Monday, the team put the final nail in that coffin.
The Tigers hired San Francisco Giants general manager Scott Harris as their new President of Baseball Operations. He will be tasked with putting the pieces back together for a Tigers team that took a massive step back this season.
Detroit currently sits 56-91 after a 11-0 rout of the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night. This is a far cry from the postseason expectations the team had heading into the season.
Harris will need to figure out what went wrong this season, and who he needs to bring in to right the ship. That can wait until November. For now, here are three reasons why Scott Harris was the perfect hire for the Tigers.
3 reasons why Scott Harris is the perfect hire for the Tigers
3) A young perspective
One of the more interesting aspects of this hire is Harris's age. The Tigers president of baseball operations is just 36 years old.
It makes his rise through the baseball ranks even more impressive. Harris began his career in 2008 with the Washington Nationals as an intern. His first big gig in the league came at the age of 25 with the Chicago Cubs.
A young presence heading up the front office is a sign of the team heading in a new direction. Furthermore, it's another sign the team wants to embrace a more modern approach to the game of baseball.
The Tigers do not have to worry about their decision maker being stuck in their ways. There is no “back in my day” mentality with this hire, which can only benefit the ball club.
Some may have concerns over an executive under the age of 40. However, Harris isn't a typical executive.
2) A ton of experience
And this is why. The Tigers executive has a ton of experience in the game of baseball. That experience isn't limited to front office experience, either.
After his stints as an intern with the Nationals and Cincinnati Reds, Harris moved to the league office. He worked as a coordinator of major league operations for two seasons.
Harris's work in the league office included “transaction support and analysis to all 30 clubs and … the First-Year Player Draft, the Rule 5 Draft, the World Baseball Classic and various industry studies.”
After that, the Cubs hired Harris as their director of baseball operations. He spent four seasons in the north side of Chicago. Harris received a promotion to assistant general manager in 2018. Following that, the Tigers executive joined the Giants as general manager, the job he held before joining Detroit.
Harris is a young face in the game. However, he carries with him a ton of experience around the game and in a variety of different roles. And he has found a ton of success at those levels, as well.
1) Track record of success
Harris's time with the Cubs is the main course here. During those years, the Cubs made three appearances in the National League Championship Series. In 2016, they also won the World Series.
The Tigers executive also found success in San Francisco. While the team failed to win a World Series, they had the best season in franchise history last year after winning 107 games.
And Harris didn't play a passive role here either. The 36-year-old undeniably played a huge role in these feats. Especially with the Cubs, according to former GM Theo Epstein.
“He’s really bright and a really hard worker,” Epstein said. “He has a strong, well-rounded executive background. But you wouldn’t know by hanging around him.”
“He’s not one of these guys telling you where he got his degree, that he went to business school, that he worked in the commissioner’s office, that he knows the rules better than you,” Epstein continued. “He’s really easy to get along with, people like being around him and he just makes the group better by being a great team player. That’s super important.”
The biggest thing when it comes to Harris is keeping a level head. He is not braggadocios, which some in his position might be after finding the type of success he has.
Moreover, Harris doesn't let outsiders get to him. He focuses on his job, and he does not allow others to get to him.
“It goes a long way. Especially if you’re going to move fast at a young age. People can be jealous of that and look for ways for you to piss them off. But it’s hard to find a way for Scott Harris to piss anyone off,” Epstein said of the new Tigers executive.
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