DAVE DOMBROWSKI
President of Baseball Operations, Boston Red Sox
Dave Dombrowski is one of the most accomplished and
well-respected executives in major league baseball. Dave began his career as an administrative assistant with the Chicago White Sox, became the youngest GM in the league with the Montreal Expos, was the first GM of the Florida Marlins, president and GM of the Detroit Tigers, and is currently the president of baseball operations for the Boston Red Sox where he led the team to a 2018 World Series championship.
LEG: Can you tell us how you got your first break and opportunity in the business with the Chicago White Sox? What did you do to make an impression once you got your foot in the door?
DD: I was attending college at Western Michigan University and writing my undergraduate thesis for the Honors College. To acquire information for this thesis I sent a questionnaire to all the General Managers in Major League Baseball. One of the General Managers who responded was Roland Hemond of the Chicago White Sox. He recommended to me to attend the yearly winter meetings that Professional Baseball held. I did this during my senior year in college, and, ran into Roland there while job seeking. By coincidence, the White Sox had a job opening and through an interview process, was able to get my foot in the door as an Administrative Assistant in Player Development and Scouting. Once I got my foot in the door, I focused on my tasks at hand, and, was willing to take on any and all tasks. Fortunately, my supervisors observed my work and felt that my work merited advancement.
LEG: What are some of the lessons you learned early on that helped shape your success throughout your career?
DD: Be willing to tackle any task given to you. Also, the biggest lesson was to only focus on what you can control. If you take care of your own responsibilities, others will notice if you do a good job.
Dave Dombrowski at Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox, in Boston, MA.
LEG: For all of the success you’ve had is there a time that things haven’t worked out the way you would have liked in your career? How did you learn from that experience and how did you overcome it?
DD: Yes, there have been instances where things have not worked out the way I would have liked. I think that this happens to everyone at one time or another. A couple of the major moments were when I lost my job. This happens in baseball, many times when a change of regime takes places. The first time this happened to me was with the White Sox when Roland Hemond was replaced as our general manager. His successor and I did not share many of the same philosophies on how to run a major league franchise, and, most of all how to treat many of the employees. This eventually cost me my job. However, by having this experience, I learned about how not to do some things as well as previous experiences taught me how to do things. After being dismissed, I continued to want to stay in the Game of Baseball, and, fortunately had job offers before accepting the position with the Montreal Expos.
LEG: At 31 years old you were the youngest GM in the league with the Expos, which must have been a tremendous responsibility. Was there anyone at the time that you considered a mentor and how valuable was that relationship in your personal and professional growth? Is there anyone along the way you’ve mentored and paid it forward with?
DD: My mentor was definitely Roland Hemond of the White Sox. He took me under his wings and without his help, I never would have been able to have my career. Hopefully I have helped many individuals experience growth in their careers. As you gain more experiences in your career I think it is a responsibility to help others.
Dave Dombrowski in 1977 with the Florida Marlins
Photo taken from Boston.com –AP Photo/Joe Cavaretta
LEG: What were the challenges of being the first GM of a new team in the Florida Marlins? What did it feel like to lead that team to a World Series and win in 7 games?
DD: The challenges of starting a new franchise were many, but, not really more so than working with any MLB franchise. These challenges were different. For example, we were hiring all the personnel in our baseball department, so, you were focused on adding all the personnel and setting your “new” organizational philosophies rather than inheriting personnel and implementing a changed philosophy.
LEG: Some have referred to you as a ‘road warrior’, which is important in the record business as well. Why do you feel it’s important to go on the road as much as you have throughout your career and what advantages has it provided?
When I first started in the game of baseball in 1978, almost all general managers traveled with their teams. My mentor, Roland Hemond, almost always traveled. He explained to me that just as many things happen on the road for a major league team as they do at home. So, why would you not be there. In addition, I think it is important that as a front office person, you understand the challenges of being on the road for the team and some challenges that are faced by them. The road life can appear to be only glamorous, but, arriving in a city at 5:00 In the morning after a long flight and then having to play that night, is not always easy, even though it may appear that way to the general public.
LEG: What has been the high point of your professional career and how did you celebrate it? What has been the low point and how did you work through it?
The high points for me have been the two World Championships that have been achieved by the clubs that I worked. Knowing that you do not have to worry about tomorrow and your club has achieved it’s ultimate goal, is fully rewarding. Being able to share that moment with your fellow employees and family members is as professionally rewarding as our industry allows. The low point would be when I lost my job with the White Sox and that experience was described previously.
2018 Dave Dombrowski celebrating the Red Sox World Series Championship
photo taken from The Athletic
LEG: What qualities do you think most contribute to a leader being effective?
There are numerous qualities that make an effective leader. Some of those qualities are job knowledge, delegation, treating employees properly, being able to make a tough decisions and to take the responsibilities of a decision that does not work out well, letting others take credit for positive situations, to set an example by working hard and having good ethical standards. All of those and more qualities are important, however, to me, the most important quality is to be a good communicator. It is always important to remember that communication involves not only talking, but, in many cases more importantly, listening.
LEG: What advice would you give to a young person working to get into the business? Once they got their foot in the door what advice would you give a young executive starting out today?
It is important to pursue your passion and not someone else’s. If you really want to get into the game and advance, their will be many long hours and sacrifices invoked. These sacrifices are worth it, if you are pursuing your passion. Also, I would recommend to executives starting out to focus on your task at hand and to learn to focus on the things that you can control.
LEG: Knowing how hard you work all season and how much work there is to do in the off season do you ever get the opportunity to turn it off? Do you have a favorite place you go to unwind, relax, and recharge?
It is important to keep your mind and body healthy. The best way for me to turn it off is with my family and to do something with them. This is usually during our family vacation during the holiday season. In addition, on a regular basis, try to jog to stay mentally and physically sharp.