Wren's Way (web exclusive audio content)
Michael J. Pallerino
December 1, 2007
Hear excerpts from our interview.
Frank Wren on ...
His baseball career
Something we don't know
about him
Meeting John Schuerholz
for the first time
The role of the GM
Expectations for the
Braves
And, Wren plays word
association with Managing Editor Mike Pallerino
From the lobby to the executive suites, the Atlanta Braves offices at Turner Field are a
scurry of activity; even more than you would think for an off-season that saw the team miss the
playoffs for the second consecutive year. On this Tuesday – only a handful of weeks into the Frank
Wren era – the door to the new GM's office is shut. With high-level, closed-door strategy sessions
occurring often in the off-season, this isn't a surprising sight. Less surprising is the person
Wren is meeting with: John Schuerholz, the mentor-turned-former GM of one of the most successful
franchises in any sport, in any era. You might think Wren and his former tutor were discussing the
recent hire of former St. Louis Cardinals executive Bruce Manno as the Braves' new assistant GM, a
move announced that morning.
Think again.
The early morning meeting was just a chitchat session on the great team the Braves have
assembled. To note, when Wren and Schuerholz say team, they mean everybody – players, coaches,
scouts, concession workers, ticket takers and on down the line. More importantly, the meeting is a
sign Wren and Schuerholz are on the same page.
If you believe the GM transition at the top of the Braves' hierarchy was done to infuse some
new energy into the organization, you'd be right. But stop there, because as much as moves like
these can have hidden agendas and motives – and enough speculation to fuel a sports talk show for
sweeps week – there aren't any. With the day-to-day grind of a GM's life admittedly wearing him
down after nearly 32 years in Kansas City and Atlanta (the past 17 with the Braves), Schuerholz has
passed the responsibilities onto Wren. In so doing, Schuerholz was named president, assuming the
title from Terry McGuirk, who will serve as chairman and CEO. Schuerholz and Wren both signed
four-year deals.
When asked about the biggest piece of advice Schuerholz gave him, Wren takes a moment to
reflect before responding. "It was pretty simple. He told me, ‘I'm not going to be looking over
your shoulder. This club, this franchise, this baseball operation is yours to run. If you need
anything, I'm right across the hall or a phone call away. You can ask me anything. But just
remember, you have great people here. Just let them do their job and you'll be successful.'
"John's management style is to hire good people and let them do their jobs," Wren adds. "In
that type of situation, you cannot help but feel even more comfortable. It's not a situation where
every time I make a move he's going to come running across the hall and ask why I did it. That's
just not his style. He's very confident in the people he hires. He's very involved in the
leadership, direction and the philosophy of the Atlanta Braves.
"John is more buttoned up, more formal. Me, I'm more casual. But we have the same philosophy
about running a team, grooming a team. We have the same goals. We just have different styles. It's
about having good people around
you."
Uncharted waters
The job responsibilities for a GM in today's baseball era are pretty clear-cut: find talent,
develop it and put it on the field to compete for a championship every year. When you do that
successfully, an organization increases the value and interest for the fan, adding to the overall
enjoyment of the park. Over the past 17 years, you would be hard pressed to find anybody that's
been more prolific than the Atlanta Braves.
But these are uncharted waters. The very team that posted an historic run of 14 straight
playoff appearances are on a new streak: two straight years without playing in October.
Any pressure, Frank? Anything you plan to do differently?
"No," Wren emphatically says as he turns and motions outside his office window toward to the
construction of new (and yet to be announced) seats around the home plate area. "The process
clearly starts with good people. It starts with the understanding of the importance of building a
team, the importance of empowering your department heads. In baseball, it starts with our directors
– the director of player development, the director of scouting, the director of international, the
assistant GM. And it builds with getting the best young players we can find, and directing these
young players. These people, the ones you surround yourself with, have to know they are not being
second-guessed. They have to know they can make decisions and go forward."
This vision and unwavering testament of leadership helped drive the Braves in the Schuerholz
era. Today, the Braves' new mantle of responsibility is on Wren. "I'm ready," he says. "I'm a doer.
It's hard for me not to jump in, help out or to be part of the front line of any task at hand. The
goal is simple: Every year we come to spring training wanting to play in October. For many
organizations, that's not a realistic goal, but here it is. Every decision we make – free agents,
signing our players – is all with the focus on making the post-season in '08."
No interest ...
To understand Frank Wren the GM, you must retrace the steps of his 30-year-plus baseball
career. At 21, while driving home from a doubleheader, the young centerfielder in the Montreal
Expos farm system felt nauseas. Headaches and a stiff neck followed. After dropping some 20 pounds
over the next three weeks, doctors feared he had meningitis. Several years later, they found a
brain tumor. Surgery saved his life but left him with double vision. His playing days seemed over.
The Expos liked him so much they offered him a job, coaching rookies during his rehab. Wren
tried to play again, but his reflexes, along with his passion for the game, were fleeting. He
contemplated med school. The Expos, sold on his connection with the younger players, offered him a
job helping Pat Doherty coach the Jamestown Jammers in the New York Penn League. And while Wren
didn't want to admit it, he loved being a leader and working with the younger players. He embraced
his new responsibilities.
Fast-forward to 1985. The Expos offered Wren a front office job as the Jammers' GM. His
mission was to pay the players, keep the books, sign the checks and send everything back to
Montreal. The Expos saw something "front office-like" in Wren, even if he didn't. "I had absolutely
no interest [in the job]," he recalls. "None whatsoever."
Fast track to the executive suite
Murray Cook, the former Expos GM, told Wren to give the role a try, stating that returning to
the field as a coach or manager would always be an option.
So Wren turned in his baseball uniform for a business suit, selling fence signs, advertising
packages and programs. And one day in his office, he realized everything he learned from his
playing days could be put into action.
From playing, coaching and scouting, to selling advertising and signing checks, Wren's
baseball career was evolving more than he could ever have envisioned. He was on the fast track for
the executive suite.
It was about that time that Whitey Lockman, the former player development official and
special assignment scout for the Montreal Expos and Florida Marlins, helped put Wren's rise into
perspective. While preparing for the draft, Wren, then Montreal's assistant scouting director, was
scrambling from one task to the other, when Lockman offered to help him make copies and staple them
together.
"I couldn't believe it," Wren recalls. "Here's a guy who was on second base when Robbie
Thompson hit that [shot heard around the world] for the [New York] Giants, a man who had done just
about everything you could do in this game, helping me make copies. There was any number of lower
level people who could have pitched in.
"It showed me there is no job beneath you. You do whatever it takes for the good of the
organization [and] the team. There are times you have to roll up your sleeves and do whatever it
takes. It just meant so much to me."
Under Wren's direction, the Expos built a new Latin baseball academy in the Dominican
Republic that would be responsible for much of the success the Expos' enjoyed in the 1990s. In
addition, the organization's farm system was twice honored as Baseball America's "Organization of
the Year."
One down, Braves to go
In 1994, Wren's old friend Dean Taylor, the Braves' assistant GM, called for a tour of the
Florida Marlins' spring training complex in Melbourne, Fla.; at the time, Wren was the Marlins'
assistant GM. This would be Wren's first introduction to Schuerholz and then-Braves' president Stan
Kasten.
In 1997, both Taylor and Wren, who had just picked up a ring following the Marlins World
Series championship, would interview for the Baltimore Orioles' GM job. And while Wren got the job,
he was fired after less than a year, with two years remaining on his contract. At one point, Wren
told Taylor the latter had made the best move by remaining in Atlanta.
The seed was planted. On Oct. 13, 1999, after Taylor left to take the GM job in Kansas City,
Schuerholz hired Wren as VP and assistant GM. He not only would serve as Schuerholz's right-hand
man, handling many daily administrative duties such as contract negotiations, but also had
influence over trades, free agent signings and player personnel matters.
Now, in a move Wren and Schuerholz both call seamless, the Braves are in the Frank Wren era.
Ask Wren and he'll say he always had a voice in what the Braves did. That's just how Schuerholz
operates. The Braves' game plan is etched in stone, only now the student will make the moves, not
the teacher. (As
Business to Business
went to press, Wren already made his first deal, sending shortstop Edgar Renteria to the
Detroit Tigers for two top prospects).
"Over the past five to six years, there have been situations where I have taken leadership
positions," Wren says. "It's been gradual. Nobody knew how or when it would happen, but we knew it
would. I watched him and I've done some of things that he did."
You'd think when Wren heads home on his daily commute to Peachtree City, he'd put that whole
sports thing behind him. Surprise again. In his spare time, Wren is an active booster member at the
Landmark Christian School, where his three sons, ages 16, 16 and 13, play baseball and football. On
any given weekend, you can find him working the concession stand or serving baked beans at a
tailgating dinner.
"Yeah, I know," he says. "I really enjoy watching my kids play sports. That's kind of my
outlet. This job can be all consuming. On any given day, the phone can ring every hour, on the
hour. My getaway is watching my boys play. It's not a bad release. When you're involved in sports
from the professional level, it's interesting to get a perspective on a grassroots level. These are
the kind of things I enjoy."
As for the future, Wren is taking the job one day at a time. His immediate goals from a
baseball standpoint are clearly defined – bolster the starting pitching; strengthen the bullpen;
find a centerfielder to replace Andruw Jones; continue to replenish the farm system; and get the
Braves back into the post-season.
"I don't view it as there being a shadow," Wren says. "For the past five to six years, I've
worked closely with John and have had my say in things. We know what we have to do."
***
The lowdown on the Braves
Earlier this year, Time Warner sold the Atlanta Braves to Liberty Media Corp. for $450
million; the deal values the Braves at roughly that amount. According to a recent report in Forbes
magazine, the Braves generate some $65 million of revenue from local media. The franchise is one of
the five teams (the Braves, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs)
that either own, or are owned by, media properties. Each generates 55 percent or more of its media
revenues – cable, broadcasting and radio right fees – from local deals.
The Braves will look to a major increase in its rights fees through a potential deal with Fox
Sports Net, which owns SportsSouth, formerly Turner Sports. TBS recently eliminated the Braves’
national telecasts (think the America’s Team marketing campaign) for 2008, as part of its deal with
Major League Baseball to carry the division series and league championship series. Telecasts
dropped from 70 to 45 games, with the option to carry more games on other regionally owned
stations.
– Michael J. Pallerino
***
The Braves’ major corporate sponsors
• Coca-Cola
• NAPA Auto Parts
• The Home Depot
• Delta Air Lines
• Publix Super Markets
***
Top 10 MLB teams in licensed merchandise sales (by market share)
1. NY Yankees – 25.4 percent
2. Boston Red Sox – 8.2 percent
3. Chicago Cubs – 6.7 percent
4. St. Louis Cardinals – 6.2 percent
5. Los Angeles Dodgers – 5.8 percent
6. Chicago White Sox – 5.7 percent
7. Detroit Tigers – 5.6 percent
8. New York Mets – 4.6 percent
9. Atlanta Braves – 4.3 percent
10. Philadelphia Phillies – 3.1 percent
– SportsOne Source