PHILADELPHIA – Andy MacPhail is the new man in charge of the Philadelphia Phillies.
The veteran baseball executive joined the Phillies on Monday with plans to take over as team president after this season. He'll eventually replace Pat Gillick, 77, who helped choose his successor. MacPhail will serve as a special assistant to Gillick for the rest of this season.
"I'm going to take advantage of the next three months to learn everything I can," MacPhail said.
The 62-year-old MacPhail won two World Series as general manager of the Twins in 1987 and 1991. After his final season with the Twins in 1994, he later served as president of the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles.
"Andy brings an uncommon blend of old-school experience and new-age thinking," said John Middleton, one of the Phillies' owners. "Old school because he has been building winning teams for over three decades. ... During his tenure in Baltimore, he greatly expanded the use of statistical analysis in player evaluations. That's the new-age thinking."
The Phillies have the worst record in the majors and front-office changes have been expected. Ryne Sandberg resigned as manager last week and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. is in the final season of his contract.
MacPhail is tasked with rebuilding a Phillies team that dominated the NL East from 2007 to '11, winning five division titles, two pennants and the 2008 World Series. The Phillies are coming off consecutive 73-win seasons and are on pace to lose 105 games.
"This organization has a terrific reputation doing things first-class," MacPhail said. "I'm confident we're going to be able to get back. It's just a question of when and how efficient we can be to make it happen sooner rather than later."
