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Hart, Braves following familiar rebuilding blueprint
- Updated: December 22, 2016
One day during Spring Training in the early 1990s, John Hart pulled out a tablet, put it on the table and in so many words, complete with jottings, told me about his blueprint for the Cleveland Indians.
Hart was in his beginning years as the Indians’ general manager, he oozed with energy and it wasn’t like he was re-inventing baseball, but he said his plan just might make the Tribe competitive for years to come.
I listened, wondered and was admittedly skeptical. The Indians hadn’t been to the postseason since 1954.
Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) was to open on April 4, 1994. It was Hart’s goal to build a team that would not only be competitive, but entice fans to come to the new venue that was to replace the old, cavernous Cleveland Stadium.
Hart’s blueprint was this: Build the team’s nucleus through the Draft, emphasize smart scouting and, yes, make wise trades.
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Even more important was Hart’s theory to sign young players to multiyear contracts before they were eligible for arbitration. Knowing the youngsters would be around for a while was comforting for the veterans who then preferred to remain with the Indians. It also helped attract the likes of Eddie Murray, Orel Hershiser, Dennis Martinez and Tony Pena.
“We were building with youngsters from our own system, and at some point we wanted to stop the revolving door,” said Hart. “We tied up players such as Jim Thome, Sandy Alomar, Paul Sorrento, Manny Ramirez, Omar Vizquel, Albert Belle, Charles Nagy, Kenny Lofton, Bartolo Colon. These were really good players.”
The Indians went on to win six American League Central titles and played in the World Series in 1995 and ’97.
That seems like a long time ago, but for Hart, now president of baseball operations for the Atlanta Braves, it could be déjà vu. It is much more difficult to sign very young players to multiyear deals now, but rebuilding is his forte. The moment the Indians moved to Jacobs Field, their rebuilding was over.
The Braves, who’ve struggled the past two seasons, have virtually been torn apart by Hart and John …
