Randy Smith (baseball)
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Randy Smith (born June 15, 1963 in Houston, Texas) is an American former executive in Major League Baseball. He served as general manager of the San Diego Padres (1993-95) and Detroit Tigers (1996-2002).
The son of baseball executive Tal Smith, Randy Smith became the GM of the Padres midseason in 1993 at age 29. After six years as Tigers GM, in which the team never posted a winning season, he was fired along with manager Phil Garner six games into the 2002 season. [1]
[edit] Criticism
The collapse of the Detroit Tigers in the late 90's is often blamed on Randy Smith. Under Smith, the Tigers squandered numerous high draft picks in trades for players who did not fulfill their potential, and the high draft picks that the team made resulted in no noteworthy players. As a consequence, the franchise's minor-league system struggled, providing little help to the major-league club. In addition, Smith traded away numerous quality players, such as Luis Gonzalez and Phil Nevin, without receiving comparable talent in return. Smith's most controversial move as GM backfired heavily; in an effort to acquire a star player that would draw fans to new Comerica Park in 2000, he sent six players—including Frank Catalanotto, Justin Thompson, Gabe Kapler and Francisco Cordero—to the Texas Rangers for outfielder Juan Gonzalez, plus two unheralded players. Gonzalez played only 115 games in a Tigers uniform before suffering a season-ending injury, and he left the team as a free agent in the offseason.
Furthermore, Smith hamstrung the franchise by signing a number of players to lucrative long-term contracts, forcing the team to devote a significant portion of its payroll to players who had long outlived their usefulness. Examples of such long-term signings include Dean Palmer, Damion Easley, and Bobby Higginson.
In July 2005, ESPN.com listed Randy Smith as "the most hated man" among Tigers fans.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Joe McIlvaine |
San Diego Padres General Manager 1993–1995 |
Succeeded by Kevin Towers |
| Preceded by Joe Klein |
Detroit Tigers General Manager 1996–2002 |
Succeeded by Dave Dombrowski |
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