This morning the Atlanta Braves announced that John Hart had made the decision to leave the organization.
The announcement of Hart’s departure completes housecleaning at the highest levels of the Atlanta Braves’ front office. It also removes any doubt that Alex Anthopoulus as the man in sole charge of baseball operations.
After the Atlanta Braves announced his departure, Hart released the following statement.
"“This was a difficult decision, but it’s one that I made with the best interests of the Atlanta Braves in mind. With the hiring of Alex Anthopoulus as general manager, this organization is in great hands. I believe that the talent of the Major League players, combined with the young talent soon to arrive, makes the Braves poised for a great run of success. This is a good time to step aside and let Alex and his group put their stamp on this great franchise. I still have a tremendous passion for this great game, and I plan to stay active and contribute to the game. I want to thank Braves fans — the best fans in baseball — for your patience during this rebuilding time. You will soon see the winning team that you deserve. I also want to thank my beautiful and supportive family. I am very excited to see how the next chapter of our life unfolds. Finally, I want to thank my longtime friend, John Schuerholz, for convincing me to come to Atlanta to oversee the rebuild, and especially to our leader, Terry McGuirk, who has shown such passion for returning to a winning place. Thank you all, and go Braves!"
Why now?
As Hart said, the hiring on Anthopoulus made him redundant but the timing of his departure is no accident. Mark Bowman’s post yesterday gave a hint that things were coming to a head and Atlanta Braves leadership probably has a good idea of what’s to come.
"While attending this week’s Owners and General Managers Meetings in Orlando, McGuirk and other Braves officials met with Commissioner Rob Manfred and other MLB officials to discuss the investigation and potential penalties."
The meeting was likely a head’s up on the commissioner’s decision about punishment for the rules infractions discovered during their investigation. A courtesy discussion like this prior to a formal announcement – expected the first of the week – is pretty coming. It allows Terry McGuirk and Anthopoulus time to prepare answers for the inevitable questions that will follow.
While word circulated that Hart would not be punished, McGuirk’s statement while introducing Anthopoulus made it clear Hart was a man without a mission. Hart was either complicit (unlikely) or oblivious to what was going on right under his nose. In many ways, not realizing such things were being done in the Braves name is just as damning as being involved.
By stepping away now Hart leaves before his presence become a thorn in the Braves’ side as they set out to rebuild the brand.
Credit where it’s due
After the announcement, Twitter exploded with indignation directed towards Hart. A few even said he and John Coppolella left the organization is worse shape than they found it. That’s patently and objectively untrue.
While they certainly made their share of mistakes (aside from this rules debacle), Hart and Coppolella rebuilt the farm system, raising it from the worst in baseball to the best in three years; that’s no mean feat. In doing that they set the Braves up for what should be a long run of future success.
What now?
Anthopoulus earned a reputation as a wheeler-dealer / gunslinger while with the Blue Jays. Eventually you’ll see him creating similar – hopefully better – deals for the Braves. Right now he still has to remember where his parking space is located and learn the names of office staff.
His immediate task is learning about the Braves system top to bottom, getting to know the players and evaluate them for himself before making big moves. That doesn’t mean he’ll sit on his hands if he sees a chance to fill a need this winter; he won’t. He understands the team must be competitive next season and will work towards making that happen.
At the same time he’s not in a win-now mode as he was in Toronto. He has a wealth of talent and few serious needs that require swift, dramatic move to rectify.
A bigger question becomes how he handles his staff. I expect that eventually he do something akin the moves Theo Epstein made in Chicago; get the lay of the land, set a course, move up to president of baseball ops and hire a new GM who compliments his style.
That’s a Wrap
This is essentially the housecleaning I expected from McGuirk and LMC when the news broke. McGuirk takes a pressure washer to the leadership group and Anthopoulus is the new broom.
That said, I have no time for those who choose to slander Hart now. He’s been more than successful at the highest levels of team management and did yeoman’s work for the Braves. His failure sprung from trusting his leadership group too much. In short he stopped leading.
The mandate of leadership is to lead. If the management team doesn’t have a direction it goes wherever the wind takes it. Powerful egos dominate those working under them and eventually something exposes their deficits.
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When that happens – and I’ve seen in more than few times – the leader takes the blame and in cases like this it ends his/her career. Hart could have been in the Hall with JS in 10 years. That ship sailed without him.
Regardless of the punishments to come, the Atlanta Braves will regroup, restructure and rebound. Every team has problems, these are just more public and damning than most. The Nationals and White Sox had some doozies – the three Sox front office officials spent time in a federal penitentiary. Those teams survived; the Braves will as well.