Jim Souhan: With something to prove, GM Smith remembers his roots

FORT MYERS, FLA. - Bill Smith replaced a celebrated general manager on the cusp of what might have been the most unpopular roster upheaval in franchise history. He got blistered by most local and national media outlets for his handling of the Johan Santana trade, and the first team under his direction might lose more games than any Twins squad since the year 2000.

Sitting in his office -- Terry Ryan's old digs -- in Hammond Stadium this weekend, Smith couldn't have looked happier.

Front and center on his desk was a USA Today article on Santana's arrival in Mets' camp and his record contract. "Ah, he's a good guy," Smith said cheerfully. "Good for him."

Blueprints for the new Twins stadium hung from the walls, a result of Smith's old job overlapping with the new job. "It's hard to hand off this kind of stuff in the middle," he said.

On the other wall hung every big-league team's 40-man roster. "We finally got them all on one wall," Smith said. "Terry came in and said, 'Ah, you changed the font.' Well, there's a new sheriff in town."

Smith offered that punch line not pointedly, as Denny Green once did, but with a self-deprecating smile.

Smith was the Twins' liaison when Lee County built this spring training complex, and he is thrilled with the county's work to upgrade the facility. He's elbows deep in the new stadium plans, and he's overseeing what appears to be a project on the field.

Whether it's refurbishing, building or rebuilding, Smith has long had a hand in the architecture of the organization, and he promises never to forget he started on the ground floor.

Or someplace more subterranean. Not many people try to turn a French degree from Hamilton College into a life in baseball, but Smith did it, landing an internship in the commissioner's office when his other option was a job with the Utica Blue Sox making $200 a month.

"All my friends are interviewing at the Bank of New York and Irving Trust. ... The guy who interviewed me for the Utica job told me, 'Tell you what, why don't we meet at the Burger King.' And I would have been thrilled to do that job."

After working for the White Sox, Smith became the general manager of the Appleton Foxes, the White Sox's Class A affiliate in Wisconsin, in 1981. "I was in Wisconsin for three years," he said. "After the first year, I was naïve enough to think that someone was going to call me, because I must have been so good that someone was going to offer me a job. But that Midwest League championship that we won, that didn't do it.

"The second year I was a little more selective, I contacted 10 clubs or something. The third year was an all-out assault. I sent résumés out in February, and saw people after the season, then saw them at the winter meetings.

"I got to the point where I felt like if they saw me first, I wouldn't ever see them, because they'd be hightailing it in the other direction, because they knew I had a pocket full of résumés."

Former White Sox exec and current Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Smith the Twins were hiring, and he wound up talking to minor league director Jim Rantz.

Rantz told Smith they'd have to talk soon. Smith said, "What about this afternoon?"

"I was thinking Jim would say, 'Sure, get on a plane and we'll fly you over," Smith said. "Nope. Jim said, 'This afternoon? It's a 300-mile drive!' "

Smith and his wife made it to the 4 o'clock meeting, then drove back on one of the coldest days in memory, and Smith got the job -- director of baseball administration -- in 1989.

Did the Twins even pay his mileage?" "No," Smith said. "But it was money well-spent."

Smith said he never coveted the GM job until it was offered, right after Ryan decided to step down from the role.

"I can't say I had never thought about the job, but I wish Terry had stayed 10 more years," he said. "I never had any desire to leave this organization and I never had any desire to usurp any of his duties. I loved working for Terry, and I loved working for Andy MacPhail."

Ryan and Smith have always seemed like fine-print guys in a headline world. When the Santana trade drew critical reviews, Smith referred to the Twins' grand history of trading valued veterans for unknowns. And he kept his sense of humor.

Without prompting, Smith pulled out two pieces of paper. One was a smart-alecky Sporting News list that read: "No. 4 -- Johan Santana: Here's how bad it is, the other night I'm watching Entertainment Tonight and Paula Abdul says, 'That Twins GM must be crazy.' "

Smith laughed, then showed off what he calls his favorite cartoon. He's often referred to as "Billy," even though he prefers "Bill."

It's The Family Circus. In it, the boy asks, "How old do I hafta be to change my name from Billy to Bill?"

Smith already has learned that in his new job, getting called "Billy" is not the worst of all possibilities.

Jim Souhan can be heard Sundays from 10 a.m.-noon on AM-1500 KSTP. • jsouhan@startribune.com