by Charlie Stalker

Created on: May 27, 2007

Brave New World: In Praise of John Schuerholz

Quick, who is the best general manager in baseball? Quickly, just say the first name that comes to mind. Who do you got for me? Billy Beane, maybe? Theo Epstein? Kenny Williams? Brian Sabean, or Brian Cashman? Those guys are all media darlings, and, to be fair, they've earned most of the adulation they've received over the years. Here is a question, though: how in the world does Atlanta Braves GM John Schuerholz get so routinely excluded from the spotlight?

It is hard enough to build a winning team for a single season. To do it year-in and year-out for the better part of two decades, on the other hand, takes something close to genius. Since Schuerholz took the full-time reins in Atlanta in 1991, the Braves have been nothing less than extraordinary: fourteen consecutive division titles(until last year), five NL pennants, one World Series championship, nearly a .600 winning percentage, 28 all-stars, 2 MVPs, and 7 Cy Young winners. Not bad for a team that won an MLB-worst 65 game and had the lowest attendance in the National League in 1990, the year before Schuerholz arrival.

So what is Schuerholz's secret? How did the Braves get so good, and how have they stayed so good for so long, longer than any other franchise in sports history? The truth is actually pretty straightforward: it all comes down to precision and patience. Schuerholz doesn't shop for big names or gaudy numbers alone. He looks for those players who best fit the needs of the organization. He doesn't chase superstars, unless they happen to fill whatever holes the club is looking to fill. Chalk that wisdom up to the years Schuerholz spent as a scout in the Baltimore Orioles system, where he learned the first rule of putting together a winner: if a player's attitude or abilities don't jibe with the team you're trying to build, then you don't want him on, no matter how many home runs he hits or how much buzz he'll generate in the local papers.

That said, there is a difference between knowing what move to make and knowing when to make it, and no one understands timing better than Schuerholz. As GM, he always has his finger on the pulse of the team; he knows when his players are up and when his players are down, which gives him an uncanny knack for making big trades at exactly the right moment. A big part of that knack, of course, is patience. The Major League season is nothing if not long, and Schuerholz has never been one to agonize over a sub-.500 record in

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