MLB announced the first stage of its front-office
reorganization by naming Sandy Alderson Exec VP/Baseball
Operations, Robert DuPuy Exec VP/Administration & Chief
Legal Officer and Robert Manfred Exec VP/Labor & Human
Resources. MLB also appointed Francis Coonelly as General
Labor Counsel and Stephen Hellmuth as Senior VP/MLB
Productions. All three Exec VPs will report to MLB
President & COO Paul Beeston and operate out of N.Y.
Alderson and Manfred will begin their positions on October
1, and DuPuy will begin October 15. Alderson was with the
A's since '81, serving most recently as President; DuPuy
was a partner in the firm of Foley & Lardner in Milwaukee,
which has represented MLB and Commissioner Bud Selig;
Manfred has represented the Player Relations Committee (PRC)
since '87 and Coonelly has worked with Manfred on PRC issues
for the past 11 years; Hellmuth, who joined MLB on August
11, spent eight years at the NBA (MLB). Player Relations
Chair Randy Levine "is leaving" MLB and will continue to
work for N.Y. Mayor Rudy Giuliani (USA TODAY, 9/29).
ALDERSON'S APPOINTMENT EARNS ALL A'S: In San Jose,
Howard Bryant writes that Alderson becomes the "third-most-
powerful voice" in MLB behind Selig and Beeston. He will
"be responsible for baseball's expansion into international
markets as well as scouting and development." Bryant calls
Alderson a "valuable commodity to baseball because of his
perspectives on the economics of the game" and his
experience with the challenges teams face in two-team
markets. The A's named CFO Mike Crowley as the team's new
President (Howard Bryant, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 9/29). In
S.F., David Bush writes that Alderson oversaw the A's "rise
to not only a championship team, but also a first-class
organization that became a model in the sports world in
terms of community involvement, marketing, promotion and
creature comforts for the fan" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/29).
FEEL GOOD MOMENT: A total of 71,906 voted on ESPN.com's
survey of the greatest moment of the '98 MLB season. The
top two: 71.5% selected McGwire's 62nd HR; 7.8% selected the
end of Cal Ripken's consecutive-games streak (THE DAILY).
