On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Phillies announced Sam Fuld’s promotion to General Manager, replacing Matt Klentak. This comes just two weeks after hiring Dave Dombrowski as the new President of baseball operations. The 39-year-old from Durham, NC, was a manager candidate of the Boston Red Sox. The Phillies also announced the promotions of Jorge Velandia to assistant general manager and Terry Ryan to special assistant to the general manager.
Former major leaguer Sam Fuld has been named the Phillies’ new general manager, President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski announced today. pic.twitter.com/h2v4rEAjcQ — Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) December 22, 2020
Fuld spent eight years in the big leagues with the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, and Minnesota Twins. He played in 598 games with a batting average of .227, 308 hits, 12 home runs, 177 runs, 112 RBIs, and 67 stolen bases. He also had an on-base percentage of .307 and a .325 slugging percentage.
After the 2017 season with the Athletics, Fuld retired to become a major league player information coordinator for the Phillies. He became a hot candidate for several management positions before becoming the new General Manager.
In the press conference, Dombrowski said, “He’s a good complement to myself. It’s a situation where I am by no means adverse to the analytical approach and anything that can make us better, but I think Sam is much more intelligent in those areas than I am. … In Sam’s case, he’ll assist me with everything that takes place. He’ll be involved in everything that happens at the big-league level.” Dombrowski added, “But also, he’ll be in a position where I really want him to focus on … the organizations that are progressive now, that are doing every little thing they can to get better, I look for Sam to be able to benefit us there and bring some of those ideas and thoughts to us.”
For Fuld, he would love the opportunity to win a World Series, something he did not accomplish in his playing career. Fuld said, “I’m excited to put another ring on his finger. I know he’s got a couple already, and I want him to have more and I want to have one myself. I didn’t get an opportunity as a player to put one on. I played in the playoffs a few times, but I am really hungry, really thirsty for a championship. I know a lot of Phillies fans out there are, too.”
With Spring Training just around the corner, both Fuld and Dombrowski will look to rebuild the team from top to bottom and get them back into the playoffs since 2011. The Phillies spring training season starts February against the Toronto Blue Jays, and the regular-season starts April 1st against the Atlanta Braves.
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