The Greatest GM of Our Time

Friends,

I have to say that Pat Gillick must be living right. This, or that maybe he is just the best general manager that baseball has seen in a long time...maybe ever. Mr Gillick was the architect of the great Toronto Blue Jay teams of the late '80s and early 90s as he was able to help guide them to two World Series wins. The Blue Jays had accomplished little up to that point...but Mr.Gillick turned them into champions. He then came to the other expansion team of the mid-70s, the Seattle Mariners in the mid-90s. Seattle had not history of winning whatsoever -- believe me, I was one of their long-suffering fans. :-) My friend Art and I used to joke that we would be ancient before the Ms ever made the playoffs. Yet, thanks to Mr.Gillick who was able to come in and perform some of his "managerial magic," he was practically able to turn the Ms into an instant contender. He led them into the playoffs in '95, '97, 2000, 2001, which was remarkable. Since Gillick left, the Ms have returned to their former status of "not-so-loveable losers." So, what did Mr.Gillick do after he left Seattle?...why he went to Philadelphia. You mean the same Phillies that just won the World Series for the first time in 28 years? Yes...he was also the architect of this team. And now...he has retired. Three MLB teams with a history of losing...he turned them into winners and gave the fans of Toronto, Seattle and Philadelphis something to cheer about. Thank you Mr. Gillick for all of the good that you have done...and enjoy your retirement -- you deserve it. Blessings,

Don