Last Thursday’s news from 20th and Blake can be taken more than one way.
The obvious reaction is that Walker Monfort’s promotion to executive vice president of the Colorado Rockies is just the latest example of his dad sustaining the status quo by promoting from within (and in this case, perpetuating family control of Denver’s Major League Baseball club).
But the younger Mr. Monfort has a response to that line of thinking, and there are numerous examples of successful baseball executives who made the most of similar opportunity.
“You mention the family tie and nepotism and everything that comes along with that,” he said when the announcement was made. “I think since Day One here at the Rockies, I’ve tried to use that as something to motivate me to actually prove people wrong. I put my work in, just like everyone else here, and I do think I’ve done a good job leading by example.”
Walker Monfort has held full-time positions with the Rockies for 16 years, most recently as director of corporate partnerships and orchestrator of ROCKIES.TV in partnership with MLB.
Before that he worked as a part-timer in the visitor’s clubhouse, as a member of the grounds crew, and in ticketing and promotions.
Walker Monfort is succeeding chief operating officer Greg Feasel, who is retiring at the end of this year, even though he’s not assuming Feasel’s title.
An offensive tackle for the Denver Gold in 1983-85, Feasel joined the Rockies in 1995. His role was more business management than baseball.
It remains to be seen if Walker Monfort will involve himself in the baseball side to a greater extent than the man he’s succeeding.
Some major decisions await.
Is Warren Schaeffer the answer in the dugout?
Is Bill Schmidt the answer in the front office?
At 38, Walker Monfort is within the age range of several “young guns” who preceded him and were successful when given their first shot at positions of authority in professional baseball.
Theo Epstein was 31 years old and in his third year as Boston’s general manager when the Red Sox ended the Curse of The Bambino by beating the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2004 World Series for their first world title in 86 years. (He also was Red Sox GM in 2007, when Boston swept the Rockies in their only WS appearance.)
Ben Cherington was 37 when he succeeded Epstein as Red Sox GM in 2011. In his first season, Boston posted its worst record since 1965. But after a flurry of free agent signings and a few shrewd trades, two years later the Sox won 97 games and the 2013 World Series.
Jed Hoyer was Walker Monfort’s age when the Cubs named him general manager in 2011. Five years later they ended the 71-year Curse of the Billy Goat by beating Cleveland in the 2016 World Series.
Jim Bowden was 31—the youngest GM in history—when he was hired by Cincinnati in 1992. Seven years later the Reds won 96 games and he was named Major League Executive of the Year by The Sporting News.
Andrew Friedman was not yet 29 when he was put in charge of the Tampa Bay Rays, who had had a losing record in each of their first eight seasons. Within three years, Tampa Bay played in its first World Series, and the Rays appeared in the postseason three more times before he was hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers as President of Baseball Operations, the title he currently still holds.
Chaim Bloom, a Friedman protégé, was 22 when he started his career with Tampa Bay. Now 41, he is set to succeed John Mozeliak as president of baseball operations for the St. Louis Cardinals when Mozeliak retires at the end of the year.
What’s interesting about all of those previous unknowns is that they all came up through the ranks, much as Walker Monfort has done to this point.
Maybe he can follow in their footsteps.
“I do have a plan in place,” he said after the announcement. “It’s something my dad and I have talked about in the past—that I think it could benefit us if we look at things a little bit differently.”
The key, of course, is getting father to allow son the freedom to change the approach.
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Denny Dressman’s 17th book, a collaboration with Kansas City artist Anthony High titled Black Baseball’s Heyday – Capturing An Era in Art and Words, will be published in late summer. You can write to Denny at dennydressman@comcast.net.