MEMORANDUM

Date:
To:
From: 
Re: 		 2/14/02
Dr. David Chappell
Craig Katz
Hoynes, Paul.  Shapiro's move to front and center.  The Plain Dealer.  February 10, 2002

I added value to this memo by:

  • Using logos of MLB teams as links
  • Using animated gifs
  • Audio of press conference
  • Relating this article to two frameworks
  • Use of Targets

To hear the official press conference of this trade click here
To see the players traded click here

The evening of December 10, 2001:

Mark Shapiro, the brand new General Manager of the Cleveland Indians found himself in a small hotel suite inside the Boston Sheraton with 14 other men.   It was the second day of Major League Baseball's winter meetings, a time where many teams trade and sign players for the upcoming baseball season.  This meeting was not a social gathering of 15 baseball fans, these men were assembled to decide the fate of Indians' gold-glove second baseman, Roberto Alomar.  When Indians' field manager, Charlie Manuel came in the room, he heard that the club was talking about trading his best player for players that Manuel knew little or nothing about. 

The new front office:

Mark Shapiro was not just the only new member of the front office, many of the men inside the hotel suite were either new to the organization, or in new positions.  The new faces were:

  •  Steve Lubratich - director of player personnel
  • Tim Belcher - special assistant, baseball operations
  • Jonathan Story - assistant director of professional scouting
  • Gary Denbo - scout
  • John Farrell - director of player development

The call:

New York Mets General Manager Steve Phillips had called several times the week before the meetings to talk to Shapiro about acquiring Roberto Alomar.  At 6:30 on December 10, 2001 Phillips  interrupted an Indians front officedinner with a phone call wanting to deal.  Shapiro and two others left the restaurant to head back to the hotel suite to look over the list of players they wanted from the Mets.  As his payroll and contract experts decided who would be the best players to ask for, Shapiro contemplated the reaction of the loyal Cleveland Indians fans to him trading away a sure hall of fame player, and who some believe is the best second baseman ever to play. 

Earlier in the day the Los Angeles Dodgers called offering outfielder Gary Sheffield straight up for Alomar.  Immediately the call from the Mets eliminated the Dodgers because the Mets were offering more that could help the Indians. Tim Belcher was quoted: "Steve Phillips got on the phone with Mark and didn't get off the rest of the night.  He didn't give any other team a chance."

Seven hours after the dinner-time call by Phillips a deal was agreed upon.  The Mets would be sending outfielders Matt Lawton and Alex Escobar, pitchers Jerrod Riggan and Billy Traber and first baseman Earl Snyder to the Indians for second baseman Roberto Alomar, pitcher Mike Bacsik, and first baseman Danny Peoples. (back to top)

The youngsters:

Matt Lawton and Alex Escobar were the principals of the deal for the Indians.  Because of salary issues and free agency, the Indians needed to replace their entire outfield from what was on the field during the 2001 season.  Everyone in the room liked Lawton.  He is a young, team-oriented player who can hit, run and field.  Indians' scouts felt Escobar too was a great combination of power, average, and gold glove caliber fielding.  Traber and Riggin were also players the Indians were excited to get.  Originally the Mets would keep changing the deal so that both players were not included, until the Indians insisted.  According to Mark Shapiro, Riggin almost broke the deal because veterans in the Mets organization were very upset to hear that he might leave.  Finally Earl Snyder was added in the group of players going to the Indians.  Some experts feel that he will be the Indians starting first baseman in two or three years. 

Second Guessing:

At midnight, Indians GM Mark Shapiro went around the room and asked all 14 people what they thought of the deal.  Everyone in the front office agreed it was the best move for the Indians to fill their numerous holes, as well as get a lot younger.  When Shapiro asked manager Charlie Manuel his opinion, he simply gave the young GM a thumbs up.  Shapiro himself felt if the Indians had not traded Alomar, that his players would go into the season knowing that they were not going to win.  He felt this deal made the Indians more of a contender.
 

Letting the news out:

After the deal was finalized around 1am on the 11th, Phillips wanted to announce the deal immediately, however Shapiro objected saying that he wanted to contact the players involved first.  Also, Shapiro knew that the media and fans in Cleveland would have very tough questions for him, especially when it came to who was going to play second this season.  Some of the front office guys stayed up all night figuring out who the Indians could afford to get to play.  A name that frequently came up was Chicago Cubs free agent Ricky Gutierrez.  Gutierrez was a short stop, but before this trade was even thought of his agent contacted Indians manager Charlie Manuel to tell him that if the Indians were interested in his client, Gutierrez would gladly switch from short stop to second base.  A few days later, he was signed to a contract by the Indians.

Mark Shapiro and Mintzberg's 10 Managerial Roles:

In the situation of the trade of Roberto Alomar, Indians' GM Mark Shapiro displayed these managerial roles:
  • Figurehead - Shapiro addressed the media at the news conference the morning after the trade was completed.
  • Leader - Shapiro led his front office team on what players to trade and acquire, as well as directing co-workers to get statistics and payroll information.
  • Liasion - Shapiro called Phillips as well as other GMs and baseball people to get information about all players involved and talked about.
  • Resouce Allocator - Shapiro decided which players get more money, and who gets longer contracts.
  • Negotiator - Shapiro's main job was to decide with Phillips which team received which players in the deal.

The Roberto Alomar trade and the systems analysis decision making model:

  • The trade between the Mets and the Indians was modeled after the systems analysis form of decision making.  There was a lot of information presented.  The Indians had many baseball statistics, as well as payroll numbers to make sure that all the players involved fit into the Indians plan for the 2002 season.
  • Even though there was a time of questioning, this deal still had low ambiguity.  The Indians knew that they could not open their season without filling the holes the franchise needed, although they had to fit right cost wise.  When the Mets came to the Indians with this trade, the Indians knew that even though trading Alomar would be difficult, it was something the team needed to do.
  • The Indians had a very easy time identifying their problems.  They knew that the team needed an entire new outfield for the 2002 season, as well as young pitching.  This deal gave them just that.
  • The solution to the problem was easy for the Indians.  They knew to get they had to give, they decided that the five players they would be acquiring from the Mets would be worth trading a future hall of famer in Roberto Alomar as well as Mike Bascik and Danny Peoples.

Conclusion:

This deal is still being talked about more than two months after it went down.  While the Indians have decided to go young and cheap for the 2002 season, the Mets have bulked up both their roster and payroll.  It will take two to three years to see if this deal helped or hurt the Indians, while the Mets will know almost as soon as the 2002 season starts.  This was the first trade that Indians GM Mark Shapiro made.  Years from now, it will be looked back as either the deal he made that sunk the Indians, or the deal he made that brought Cleveland a World Series championship.