A Championship Front Office Move By New York Yankees
Ask any coach or manager to name two characteristics a team needs to win a championship. Among the top responses will mostly often be: depth and experience. Those attributes help front offices win championships, as well. On Tuesday, the New York Yankees got a little deeper in the front office with an old friend, with a ton of good experience and happens to sport a few recent World Series rings.
On the first day of business in 2023, the Yankees announced Brian Sabean has joined the Pinstripes front office brass. The former San Francisco Giants GM, who sports rings from 2010, 2012 and 2014, was named Executive Adviser to General Manager Brian Cashman. Sabean is a terrific pick-up for Cashman. Having a reliable person that can be deployed to assist with most any situation, can come in handy for a GM when trying to get by the Houston Astros and win a World Series. Current MLB teams would salivate to have Brian Sabean as their GM right now and Cashman grabbed him as part of his team. Genius.
Brian Cashman, sporting his new 4-year contract, is wielding his power and confidence by bringing in a high ranking baseball executive as an advisor. Sabean is not too far removed from his own championship run as GM. Some would see it as a threat. Cashman knows, just like your roster, your front offices needs the best minds in the game. Sabean is one of those minds.
Brian Sabean told Joon Lee of ESPN.com, "I still have a great passion for the game and I really have been exposed to almost everything in the game and almost run every department you can in an organization. So, I think I needed to be in a place that I could give back, be a mentor, contribute at any level at any time and be an on-call doctor." That sounds like a huge asset for Cashman in 2023.
Sabean spent 30 seasons with the San Francisco Giants, with World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014 serving as general manager. Brian Sabean was no stranger to the Yankees organization, having spent eight seasons with the Bronx Bombers. He joined the team in 1985 as a scout, served as director of scouting from 1986 through 1990, and vice president of player development and scouting from 1990 through 1992 before leaving for San Francisco. This move will never throw a pitch or have an at-bat but it could be one that wins the New York Yankees a World Series ring in 2023.