By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
The general manager is supposed to be the smartest man in the room and the wisest one in the ball park after the doors open during batting practice.

Here is exactly how wise John Schuerholz, is, the man who was a unanimous choice for the Hall of Fame on Sunday as the winter meetings began Sunday at National Harbor, MD.

The Blue Jays were about to play a three-game series at Turner Field in Atlanta in June of 2006, starting on a Tuesday. My flight from Pearson to Hartsfield was Sunday at noon which turned out to be just perfect for two reasons: A) the Braves were hosting Boston Red Sox on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball and B) Scott Thorman (Cambridge, Ont.) had been recalled from triple-A Richmond and to make his major-league debut.

Dumping my laptop upstairs in the press box I glanced at the lineup written on the board on my way to the elevator downstairs to see whether Thorman was playing. Not only was he playing ... the white board read much to my surprise ...

Braves
1. Marcus Giles 4
2. Edgar Renteria 6
3. Scott Thorman 7

As a youngster I had seen Thorman play first base, third and pitch for Ontario Blue Jays and coach Gary Wilson. Manager Bobby Cox and I talked for a while and then Cox asked “so you’re here to see our new left fielder?”

Left field?

The No. 7 I’d seen upstairs was not his uniform number. It was his position. General manager Frank Wren said Thorman had played a handful of games in the outfield at Richmond.

With two out in the bottom of the first Thorman had his first major league at-bat against Curt Schilling. He might have needed a step ladder to reach the first pitch that he hacked at. (Later he would joke “made up my mind on the drive from Richmond I was swinging at the first pitch”). He struck out on three pitches. Andruw Jones also whiffed. So did Jeff Francouer and starter John Smoltz. Thorman was hitless in four at-bats as the Red Sox won 10-7.

Some where that night we said hello to Schuerholz, who I first met in 1985 and had always respected. And now he was the Braves president. I used to praise for selecting the top Canadian back-to-back years (Thorman, first round, 2000, Adam Stern, third, 2001) and tease when he did not (Jamie Romak, fourth round, second Canuck selected in 2003).

Facing Jays right-hander Josh Towers, Thorman was in left wearing his No. 20 and hitting eighth. Thorman flew out deep to centre and reached on an error his first two at-bats. And now in sixth with the Jays leading 4-2 and Towers in trouble, manager John Gibbons went to lefty Scott Downs to face left-handed hitters Adam LaRoche and Thorman.

LaRoche bounced out with Brian McCann scoring. Now a one-run game Downs, a seven-year veteran, faced Thorman, hitless in his first six major league at-bats. Now, I had written about Thorman since he was 12 or 13 when he won two weeks at the Ernie Whitt Baseball School for his submission to the Toronto Sun on why he should get a free week. Basically he wrote why he was deserving ... since “I lost my coach, my father.” So while no cheering is allowed in the press box, I would not have minded Thorman getting his first base hit.

When he hit a 1-1 pitch from Downs into right scoring Francouer tying the score, the 26,915 fans, most of them Braves fans, cheered. For a Canadian it was quite moving, It was so moving I moved ... and went for a walk ... off to the lunch room where I would sit and listen to broadcaster Skip Caray tell wonderful stories. 

I re-filled my Diet Coke cup and looked up to see Schuerholz. The game was tied 4-4, yet he took time to leave his box, look for me in the press box and now find me. He said something “how bout that?” I looked at Schuerholz and could not get any words to come out, it was so emotional to see a Canadian kid get his first hit against his the team he cheered for. 

Then, Schuerholz said “it’s hard ...” and I responded “it is really hard ... especially John when you can’t talk.”

* * *
Former commissioner Bud Selig was named by 15 of the 16 voters on the Today’s Game era committee. while Schuerholz was everyone’s choice. Former manager Lou Piniella was next closest with seven votes, shy of the required 12 to gain election.

Selig grew up a Milwaukee Braves fan but by 1965 the Braves headed south to Atlanta. Selig sold his stock in the team and began a quest to bring baseball back. His group purchased the American League’s Seattle Pilots out of bankruptcy court on March 31, 1970 and seven days later, the new Brewers began their AL schedule.

He took over on an interim basis in 1992 after commissioner Fay Vincent -- who found out he had lost Toronto’s vote to remain in power during a day game at the SkyDome. George Bush of the Texas Rangers wanted to be the commissioner but Selig did not think an owner should be a full-time commish. Bush went on to become Governor of Texas and President of the United States.

Selig became the full-time commissioner in 1998 and for 16 years was in charge. He gets credit for bringing increased revenue to the industry ($1.2 billion revenues in 1992, $9 billion when he left), the wild-cards, inter league play, replay, 22 new ball yards, attendance growth, realignment and two expansions.

But he was also in charge of the collusion of the 1980s when owners were found guilty for colluding three straight years taking $280 million US from players, he oversaw the PED explosion, many years of labor strife, cancellation of the 1994 World Series and an October of memories.  

* * * 
If the No. 1 most heart breaking history in the 40-year history of the Blue Jays is the Melt Down in Mo Town -- the Jays lost a three-game weekend series in Detroit, finishing with seven straight losses to blow their AL East league to the Detroit Tigers -- it happened two years before.

Schuerholz’ Royals were down 3-1 in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series. The Royals won Game 5 2-0 in KC, then at Exhibition Stadium, George Brett homered in a 5-3 win to force a deciding game and Jim Sundberg hit a three-run triple in the sixth inning off Dave Stieb to take Game 7 by a 6-2.

There was a definite Toronto flavor to the 16-man electorate. Besides Hall of Famer Robbie Alomar, the first to wear a Jays logo into Cooperstown, Hall of Fame GM Pat Gillick, Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox and former Blue Jays president Paul Beeston were on the committee. In both the 1990s when Beeston ran the Jays with Selig as commisioner and when they both worked on Park Ave. Selig and Beeston were not close. Yet, they mended fences and after Beeston returned to the Jays. Beeston even took an 8 AM flight to Milwaukee for the unveiling of Selig’s statue outside Miller Park.

The rest of the committee charged with reviewing players, executives, managers and umpires from 1988 to the present, included Hall of Famers Andre Dawson, Dennis Eckersley, Ozzie Smith, Don Sutton, and Frank Thomas; executives Bill DeWitt (Cardinals), David Glass (Royals), Andy MacPhail (Phillies) and Kevin Towers (Reds); and veteran media members/historians Bill Center (San Diego), Steve Hirdt (New York) and Tim Kurkjian (Baltimore). 
  
A list of the players eligible as well as the years they were previously on the Hall of Fame ballot and the highest % of votes they received from the BBWAA. No one came close as say Jack Morris had 61.5% on his last ballot, who was not eligible to this ballot, but is eligible to be on next December’s. 

Name Years Highest %
Mark McGwire 10, 23.7%
Orel Hershiser 2, 11.2%
Albert Belle 2, 7.7%
Harold Baines 5, 6.1%
Will Clark 1, 4.4%
 
Manager Davey Johnson and Piniella, along with owner George Steinbrenner were the others candidates the Today’s Game Era Committee considered for the Class of 2017.

Next month Tim Raines, in his 10th and final year on the ballot, Jeff Bagwell and other players will find out how the BBWAA voting went. 

* * * 
Schuerholz taught junior high for three years before being hired by the Baltimore Orioles where he met president Frank Cashen, Harry Dalton and Lou Gorman, director of player personnel. He and Gorman went to the expansion team in Kansas City in 1968 and Gorman headed to start up the Seattle Mariners in 1976.    

In 1981, the Royals named him GM, the youngest in history. His team won the 1985 World Series beating the St. Louis Cardinals, he moved the Atlanta Braves in 1991 as GM Cox returned to the field, won the 1995 World Series during a streak which is always billed as a 14-year run as NL East division champs.

Of course as Montreal Expos fans would insist we have to point out it was two streaks: 1991-1993 and 1995-2005. The Expos were six games up on the Bravos when the strike hit in August and Selig never negotiated a settlement. In all, Schuerholz teams reached post-season play in 21 of 29 seasons, averaging 90 wins.
 
One night Tracy Ringolsby and myself ran into Schuerholz coming out of a restaurant at the GMs meetings in Amelia Island, Fla. He said hello and took us across the street to show us a dumpy draft beer hall where Orioles minor leaguers would go for a draft beers in the 1960s. It had not changed a bit. 

* * * 
Every time is see the fighting Towson University Tigers on TV or read about them I think of Schuerholz. He attended Towson, was athlete of the year his senior school and was true to his school as the Beach Boys used to sing. He contributed funds and now the ball park is named Schuerholz Park. Although when we checked the Towson site there was not any news about the success of one of their key benefactors.

I saw him after the 2012 movie Trouble with the Curve came out. In it a young buck scout for the Braves made fun of a veteran scout’s judgement, played by Clint Eastwood. Eventually the GM fired the disrespectful scout. My comment was something like “John Schuerholz’s Braves would have fired him much earlier in the movie.” Schuerholz was able to shoot rounds of golf with Eastwood since the movie was filmed in Atlanta.  

Atlanta fans ought to be able to purchase housing at a reduced rate in Cooperstown. Consider Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and Cox were inducted in 2014, John Smoltz in 2015, Schuerholz in 2017 and Chipper Jones is due in 2018. 
 
Probably my No. 1 image of Schuerholz was an ESPN clip as he sat in his box during a spring training game as his son, Jon Schuerholz, who peaked at Richmond in 2007 homered. Looking at his happiness, the flashback took me back to Turner Field while I was watching a Canadian single off a veteran lefty.