MLB WORLD SERIES: INDIANS v MARLINS

October 26, 1997

Dave Dombrowski

DAVE DOMBROWSKI: Well, I haven't missed any of the games. I've been here all week long. I've been in my office. I didn't think that I had to be very visible at this time, I think it's pretty much -- we've got enough visibility with the players and Jim around here. You get all of your quotes from them. I've been in my office, if anybody ever needed to reach me I've been here early every single day. I've been able to watch everything going on, basically, on this television.

DAVE DOMBROWSKI: Well, I know a lot about it, but I'm not really in a position to divulge it at this time, because I think we'd have more to say about it later on, basically because I'm not sure what Livan knows at this time. I know that he knows a lot about some of the things that have been done. I have not been down in the clubhouse because they're trying to be in focus with the 7th game of the World Series and to win tonight. So I'm really at a position where I don't want to say much more, because I'm not sure how much Livan knows.

DAVE DOMBROWSKI: Well, I know totally what his options are. If the club is sold he has the option to leave if he so desires. That's basically where it is. I don't know what's going to happen with the club. We have really been in a position where all of this has been in a spot where we've talked all along in the World Series, those things we're not focused on, we're trying to focus on winning the Series, we've been trying to focus on getting here. We've accomplished that. We're trying to win. And so that's what his options are in his contract. I don't know what Wayne is going to do at this time. Basically what I know on that subject is what I read in the paper, because it's not at a point for me that's been a focus. The focus has been trying to win. And once the Series is over that will be something that will be approached within the next couple of weeks or sooner.

DAVE DOMBROWSKI: I have not gotten into that subject at all with him, to me it's not an appropriate time really to discuss those subjects because I've known Jim for a long time, we're more than people that work together, we're friends, we go back for 15 years, I know him very well. When the time is appropriate we'll deal with every subject like we do all the time. But this is not the appropriate time. Our total focus has been on a position where we're trying to win.

DAVE DOMBROWSKI: We won't take any time off. Unfortunately this is not the time for us where we can take time off. There's going to be a lot of things that we have to get done and prepared. We have to start looking at 1998 very quickly. We will have meetings here in South Florida starting a week from Monday in preparation of getting our final list together for the expansion draft, as far as accumulating all of our trade information gathered during the World Series, make decisions regarding 1998. Basically we have gathered facts so far, because again our focus has been trying to win. But we're in a position where we've tried to gather as much information as we possibly can, what other clubs needs are right now, we've done that. We have not discussed it at all, other than just to make each other aware of that, the people that deal with that information, and we'll have to sit back and listen to hear what Wayne and Don decide, and we'll have to go from there.

DAVE DOMBROWSKI: Well, they've done an outstanding job, here they are at the World Series, when you look at their line-up, it puts as much fear as any line-up we've played all season long. He's turned the club around to put them in that position. What I remember at the time when that deal was announced I was in shock, basically when I heard the names that were involved. I heard some rumors of potential things taking place, but normally those type of moves you hear more than little rumors, and when I heard it I was basically taken back, because I remember we were driving down here to Fort Lauderdale to play the Orioles that day. And when I pulled up somebody said, did you hear about the deal, and I said, well, I heard something about it, and they kept talking about it at that time. And at the time I understood it basically because I thought that Cleveland had helped their Big League club a tremendous amount in getting two quality players to put into their line-up in Grissom and Justice. Atlanta got a quality player in return by Lofton. I understood what John Schuerholz was trying to do with Atlanta was to free up money to sign pitchers. It makes sense for the type of deal made, but I thought as far as immediate impact was concerned that the Indians had got two quality players to plug in their line-up on a daily basis.

DAVE DOMBROWSKI: No, I can't say that. In the Braves case when you look at that ball club, they also had personnel that could step in and play, were very deep. So they open up a spot to play Andrew Jones a little more, and I don't think that really helped our chances a great deal, since I thought he was a pretty good player. So all of a sudden you look at it, when you look at the Braves line-up, I don't see any weak spots there, either, per se. I don't think it helped us necessarily, but I thought that the Indians, just because they got two every-day players, really made a heck of a deal, and the Braves accomplished what they needed to do.

DAVE DOMBROWSKI: It gives you a tremendous feeling to be involved in the 7th game of the World Series. If you've been in baseball, no matter who your or what you've done, if you're in the 7th game of the World Series, that's your dream. And to be in a situation where we are with a club that started five years ago with basically the core of the organization involved, as far as the people that were involved to help put it together from a scouting player development, business management, it gives you a great deal of pride, satisfaction and enjoyment to be here. It's also one where you -- I think you're so focused on what's taken place on a day-to-day basis of what you need to do, you don't get too carried away. And you're just hoping that you can win it when you're this close. But we sat back when we got our original schedule and we looked at the conflicts we had on our schedule with the Dolphins, and it was one day, October 26th. And we said, well, if we have to worry about -- if that's the only day we have to worry about is the 7th game of the World Series, let's take our chances of winning the game. And here we are. So it's the ultimate. And I'm very happy to be part of it with the group of people in this organization. And even though there's been a large turnover of players, basically, I think that's expected with a new club, and even though there's only a couple of them that have been with us as far as Opening Day in 1993 on our Major League roster, more are coming through our system all the time, and you've seen those young players, the Charles Johnson when he first signed and Edgar Renteria, Felix Heredia, I watched them in the Gulf Coast League Club when they first started off, it makes you feel good.

DAVE DOMBROWSKI: No, I've never felt that way all along. When we did what we did in the wintertime we have felt that we were trying to do this for an extended period to stay good for many years, stay solid. But I've never felt any extra pressure to win this year because of what was announced. I think when you've been in the game of baseball long enough and you've been in my position, I've been a general manager almost ten years now, I think you learn that there are so many things that are beyond your control that you just react appropriately under the circumstances and you prepare yourself however you can. And so for us if -- I very much would love to see Wayne retain ownership and keep this club together. If that doesn't happen, then we'll have to react from there. But it's never built any extra pressure as far as trying to win this year, because any moves we've ever made have basically been made to try to win this year regardless of what's happening in the future.

DAVE DOMBROWSKI: You're even getting into deeper fine print than I even know the answer to. It's a situation where it basically says if there's an ownership change in his contract.

DAVE DOMBROWSKI: Well, I'd have to probably dig deeper for funnier recollections, but the most vivid memory you have is Opening Day of 1993. And Charlie Hough throwing the first pitch out. That's my most vivid memory of the beginning part of the season, and the beginning part of the Florida Marlins Organization. A beautiful day, stadium full, tarps on so not as many people as there are at this time, but being in a position where Charlie struck out Jose Offerman on a pitch that I guess there was wide corners in those days, too (laughter.) But it was one where that memory just strikes me, and I remember what our goal was that year, our goal was to not lose 100 games. We didn't want to lose 100 ballgames. And there were so many things that went on in putting the club together and the memories with Latch, and a lot of our funny memories with our traveling secretary at that time, the Greek, but I'd say if there's one thing that really sticks in my mind, it's that first pitch that Charlie threw in that first opening game.

DAVE DOMBROWSKI: I don't have the ability to answer that question at this point, because I don't know what they're talking about when they refer to that. So I have not delved into that issue with them because the timing has not been appropriate, so I don't know what they're talking about in that regard. I do know there are a lot of young players coming through the system at this time. Until they give me a definitive answer on that, do I really have a feeling of where that would put us.

DAVE DOMBROWSKI: I think there can be. I think that it depends upon -- if you come into an organization that has been started already and you're in a position where you inherit contracts that tie your hands, that that's a disadvantage. And when you start fresh you don't have any of those type of contracts, so you get to make your own decisions and make whatever good or bad ones that you can and it's also a circumstance that when you're coming into a new organization, you have to make decisions on personnel that run the organization, and that gives you -- takes time before you get a feel of all the personnel. In this type of situation you bring everybody in new, and basically your departmental leaders know everybody at that time, so you have a fresh way of starting.

DAVE DOMBROWSKI: That's right. I think there are some advantages. The big disadvantage you have is you don't have talent within your system. So a lot of times you'd rather be in a position where you come in and you have talent to deal with. I remember when I went to Montreal ten years ago, 1986, and people just telling me in general, well, you don't have anybody in your system. And I didn't know the system very well at all. Well, it just so happened we had people like Randy Johnson before I came and Larry Walker before I came and Brian Holman and John Dobson, so I'd much rather be in a situation where you came in and you had those type of players in your system, but I think there's an advantage -- can be an advantage to either.

DAVE DOMBROWSKI: There hasn't been a time for me to discuss it. I'm signed through 1998. So I'm through October of '98. So for me it hasn't been an issue whatsoever. So, yes, I feel very much a part of what's taking place. And I think that I enjoy it here, people that run this organization, the people above me treat me very well, they always have. I think that as a general manager even when those type of questions come up that you realize that that's part of the job because whenever you're in a building phase, patience is not a virtue with the majority of people around, but ownership has been great with me. Yes, I feel very much a part of here. So I don't have any desires to go anywhere else. Of course you also have to look at the opposite side, if somebody else buys the team, do they want you? That's just the way the game goes. But I've often felt in the game as a general manager, and people still have a hard time believing this because when they look at your job, there's just some things you don't control. I have never been in a position that I've set what our payroll budget is. That's an ownership decision. They give you what the payroll budget is. And those type of things it's then up to you to be responsible to figure out how to make that budget work as well as you can. And we're all aware, everybody sitting here knows that your chances of winning with a 45 million dollar payroll are better than winning if you have a 15 million dollar payroll. But that still doesn't mean you work as hard as you possibly can with the 15 million dollar payroll to get the most out of your organization as you possibly can. It's a challenge.

DAVE DOMBROWSKI: Well, I'd much have preferred winning it in 6. So 7 games doesn't make any difference to me. It's great for the game of baseball, we had a chance, but we didn't win, so you turn the page. I think 7 games are as an exciting an event that takes place in sports. So if you're involved in it you're sitting on the edge of your seat with every pitch. And I think even a lot of nonbaseball fanatics turn into that. They tune into that and they want to see it. But as far as the other part with Jim, I think somebody asked me here earlier where are you at this time, well, basically as a general manager it seems, again, when you get to the World Series there's some things you have to approach, but there's other things that your manager is front and center every day. He's here talking to you every single day. He's getting your questions every single day. I don't get many questions this time of year. I read all the articles and stay abreast of what's taking place. But I'm not dealing with those issues. So for me even though I read it, I didn't agree with a lot of things that were being written, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of being here on a daily basis. For me this is a dream. Even though I don't agree with what's being written, it wasn't going to ruin my time period of being here. So I've enjoyed this time period as much as I possibly could and if people don't like the circumstances, the way the Florida Marlins and the way the Cleveland Indians got here, then they should change the rules. But we got here under the rules that are present. And our clubs played well. To me no matter what happens tonight, I don't think you could be more proud of the players and our staff in our clubhouse than -- because what we've gone through this year, the character that they've shown, the number of one-run victories, come-back victories, last at-bat victories, battled through adversity, you have to be proud of them. It hasn't taken any of the thrill and enjoyment away from me, at all.