The Toronto Blue Jays announced on Monday that a World Series-winning executive would be joining their front office. James Click, who previously served as the Houston Astros general manager, will be Toronto’s new Vice President of Baseball Strategy.
After the Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, Click saw his contract expire. Rather than reward the 45-year-old GM with a lucrative contract extension, the Astros inexplicably offered Click a one-year deal. The two sides elected to part ways this winter, which allowed Click to join the Blue Jays on Monday. Under Click’s watch (2020-22), the Astros made three American League Championship Series appearances and made it to two World Series.
According to ESPN, Click’s departure from Houston marked the first time in 75 years that a team’s head of baseball operations didn’t return after winning the World Series. The last time this happened? You’d have to go back to 1947 when New York Yankees GM, Larry MacPhail, resigned after the Yankees defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games.
Prior to his tenure in Houston, Click worked at Baseball Prospectus after graduating from Yale University. On the recommendation of Chaim Bloom, who now serves as the Boston Red Sox general manager, the Tampa Bay Rays hired Click as an intern in 2005. The Rays hired him to a front office role in 2006 and was later promoted to Vice President of Baseball Operations in 2017.
Now, Click will be returning to the American League East. We’ll have to see if he’ll be able to bring some of his winning ways North of the border.
[ESPN]
