The Colorado Rockies kept telling everyone they were going to not only hire from outside, but go outside the box when hiring a new president of baseball operations.
Who knew they would be looking outside the confines of their own sport?
The Rockies are hiring Paul DePodesta, who has been chief strategy officer of the Cleveland Browns, to be lead their entire baseball department, a high-ranking club official told USA Today Sports.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team had not yet announced the decision.
Yes, the same DePodesta who hasn’t been involved in baseball in 10 years.
The same DePodesta who was last a GM 20 years ago before being fired after only 20 months by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The same DeDodesta who was depicted by actor Jonah Hill as the analytics guru in “Moneyball” but refused to let his name be used in the movie.
And the same DePodesta whose Browns teams have gone 56-99-1 since being hired in Cleveland.
Yes, that Paul DePodesta who now is in charge of turning around baseball’s worst franchise after three consecutive years of losing 100 games, including a major-league worst 43-119 last season.
DePodesta was chosen after Arizona Diamondbacks assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye rejected the offer and Cleveland Guardians assistant GM Matt Forman pulled out of the running.
DePodesta also has worked in the front offices for the Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Cleveland and the New York Mets before joining the Browns in January 2016.
Now, he is back in baseball for the first time in 10 years, going from the NFL’s sad-sack to perhaps MLB’s worst franchise.
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Reporting by Bob Nightengale, USA Today
