Q&A: O’Dowd reflects on his proteges

After 15 years as general manager of the Rockies, Dan O’Dowd decided to move on following the 2014 season. He now serves as an analyst for MLB Network.

O’Dowd’s impact on the game, however, remains. Six of the 30 current general managers were introduced to life in a baseball front office during O’Dowd’s tenure in Colorado.

That list includes Jerry Dipoto, the current general manager of the Mariners, who was previously the interim GM of the D-backs and GM of the Angels.

Others who spent time with the Rockies while O’Dowd was in charge are Billy Eppler of the Angels, O’Dowd’s replacement in Colorado, Jeff Bridich, Jon Daniels of the Rangers, Mike Hill of the Marlins and Matt Klentak of the Phillies.

They all have different strengths, but also have all reached a career goal in becoming the head of baseball operations for a Major League team. Plus, they all were guided along the way by O’Dowd.

O’Dowd was asked for a quick summary of the strengths of each in this week’s Q&A:

MLB.com: Looking around the game and seeing six current general managers whose careers were impacted by your time with the Rockies when you were the general manager has to be a rewarding feeling for you.

O’Dowd: Each of these men are high-character guys, with a very high level of integrity. They are all exceptionally smart. They process thought extremely quickly. They are creative minds, and are very good problem solvers. They have real good skill sets to be exceptional in the business they are in.

MLB.com: Your relationship with Dipoto goes back to when he was a prospect in the Indians’ system and …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com