Dan Duquette

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Daniel F. Duquette (born 1958) is a former front-office executive in Major League Baseball and currently serves as director of baseball operations for the new Israel Baseball League. Duquette was the general manager of the Montreal Expos from September 1991 through January 1994 and for the Boston Red Sox from 1994 through February 2002. He was fired from his general manager post in 2002 when John W. Henry bought the team from the JRY Trust, headed by John Harrington.[1]

Dan Duquette oversaw quick turnarounds during his tenure as GM of the Expos and Red Sox, expanding fan interest in both markets. As farm system director of the Expos from 1987 to 1991, Duquette helped build the player development operations. After joining the Red Sox, he rebuilt the scouting staff and farm system from what was one of the least productive in the industry to one that has been the foundation of the franchise.

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[edit] Career

A native of Dalton, Massachusetts, Duquette attended Amherst College, where he was a catcher on the varsity baseball team. Duquette got his start in baseball as a scouting assistant with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1981 after a fellow Amherst alumnus, Harry Dalton, the Milwaukee general manager, saw his letter seeking employment in the game. During his seven seasons in Milwaukee, the team drafted future major leaguers Dale Sveum, John Jaha, BJ Surhoff, and Gary Sheffield.

[edit] Montreal Expos

In 1988 he became Montreal's director of player development. In his three years in that role, the Expos drafted Marquis Grissom, Charles Johnson and Rondell White. Duquette replaced Dave Dombrowski as Expos' GM on September 19, 1991. Under Duquette the Expos acquired elite pitcher Pedro Martínez from the Dodgers for second baseman Delino DeShields. After two seasons in Montreal Duquette became the general manager of his hometown Red Sox.

[edit] Boston Red Sox

Duquette's tenure in Boston was often marked by controversy. His administration was viewed as very intolerant to criticism and media-unfriendly and utilized the Internet to communicate directly with fans. He continually disputed with former Red Sox manager Kevin Kennedy (who was abruptly fired in 1996) about the direction of the team and manager Jimy Williams over the coaching staff and center fielder Carl Everett. In 1996 Duquette traded pitcher Jamie Moyer for outfielder Darren Bragg. Moyer went on to win 139 games in just over 9 seasons with the Mariners. He is also famously known for the quote about Roger Clemens in which he said that "we had hoped to keep him in Boston during the twilight of his career" in 1996 after Clemens left as a free agent.[2] The free agency losses of Clemens and first baseman Mo Vaughn were major points of discontent amongst some Red Sox fans with regards to Duquette.

Duquette is also noted for several major acquisitions that would ultimately play a part in the Red Sox 2004 championship, including acquiring Pedro Martínez in 1997 from Montreal, the trade for pitcher Derek Lowe and catcher Jason Varitek and the free agent signings of Manny Ramírez in 2000 and Johnny Damon in December, 2001. After being fired in 2002 Duquette started a sports academy for children in Hinsdale, Massachusetts. The academy is described by its website as "a sports training center for boys and girls ages 8-18 who are interested in learning baseball, softball, basketball and life skills from distinguished high school, college and professional coaches."

Duquette is now working to start the Israel Baseball League after being appointed director of baseball operations. He had a role in a Western Massachusetts community theatre production of Damn Yankees.[3]

Duquette is also the president of the Berkshire Dukes, a baseball team in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. He lives in Stow, Massachusetts.

His cousin, Jim Duquette, is a former executive of the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Mets.

[edit] Honors

Duquette was twice honored as the Major League Baseball Executive of the Year, first by The Sporting News in 1992 with the Expos,[4] and later by the Boston Baseball Writers Association in 1995 with the Red Sox.

[edit] References

  1. ^ New Owners of Red Sox Quickly Fire Duquette New York Times Retrieved on 10 December 2007
  2. ^ Silverman, Michael. Baseball END OF AN ERA Boston Herald Retrieved on 14 February 2008
  3. ^ Damn Yankees Berkshires Week Retrieved on 3 December 2007
  4. ^ Sporting News Executive of the Year Baseball Almanac Retrieved on 11 December 2007

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Dave Dombrowski		 Montreal Expos General Manager
1991 - 1994		 Succeeded by
Kevin Malone
Preceded by
Lou Gorman		 Boston Red Sox General Manager
1994 - 2002		 Succeeded by
Mike Port (Interim)
Preceded by
Andy MacPhail		 Sporting News Major League Baseball Executive of the Year
1992		 Succeeded by
Lee Thomas