Top 5 promising Dave Dombrowski quotes on Phillies’ future
By Matt Rappa
These quotes should have Phillies fans feeling optimistic about the future.
The Philadelphia Phillies recently hired their first-ever president of baseball operations — two-time World Series champion Dave Dombrowski. These five quotes from his introductory press conference on Friday should leave fans feeling optimistic about the organization’s future.
5. Dave Dombrowski already has a good rapport with John Middleton.
"“[John] has a great reputation and I think he’s a great owner [who] wants to win. He’s a Philadelphia fan and will do what he can to win; [he’s] somebody I look forward to working with.” – Dave Dombrowski"
The first question Dombrowski was asked related to the sales pitch Phillies Managing Partner John Middleton and team president Andy MacPhail had to make to woo him away from his Nashville project and to Philadelphia.
Dombrowski cited the timing was largely coincidental. Just one day after learning he would not be able to present on potentially bringing a team to Nashville until the 2021 Winter Meetings, Middleton called him “for about an hour to try to keep an open mind about coming to Philadelphia.”
The Phillies had reached out to Dombrowski earlier in this offseason, but the longtime executive told them and other interested teams that he was committed to Nashville.
“With [news of the delay], my responsibilities for what I needed to do would be diminished — not really much to do this coming year,” Dombrowski recalled. “It just so happened, again it’s a coincidence situation, that John called me.”
Dombrowski said he has known MacPhail for years and felt very comfortable talking to him, but it was Middleton reaching out to him and really trying to make him feel a part of the Phillies organization that ultimately sealed the deal.
“[John] has a great reputation and I think he’s a great owner [who] wants to win,” Dombrowski said. “He’s a Philadelphia fan and will do what he can to win; [he’s] somebody I look forward to working with.”
While MacPhail may soon no longer be in the Phillies brass mix, Middleton surely will. It seems as though he and Dombrowski already have a good rapport.