Tony LaCava
Tony LaCava | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 21, 1961 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Interim general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays |
| Known for | Baseball executive |
| Predecessor | Alex Anthopoulos |
Anthony F. LaCava (born May 21, 1961) is an American professional baseball executive. As of November 2, 2015, he is the interim general manager for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB) as well as vice president of baseball operations.[1]
Playing career
LaCava attended Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and played for the school's baseball team. As a senior in 1979, Central Catholic won the state championship.[2] He signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an undrafted free agent in 1983. He hit .302/.386/.409 in 21 games for the 1983 GCL Pirates in a utility role and was 0-for-11 with two walks for the Greenwood Pirates. In 1984, LaCava fell to .153/.268/.161 for the Macon Pirates to end his playing career.
Executive career
In 1989, Tony was hired by the California Angels as a scout. He moved up to Regional Crosschecker by 1996. In 2000, he joined the Atlanta Braves as their National Scouting Supervisor. The Montreal Expos hired him as Director of Player Development, in September 2000. While working with the Expos, LaCava became acquainted with advanced metrics through contact with Baseball Prospectus writers. As a result, he uses advanced stats like xFIP and BABIP in his analysis of a player.[3] He joined the Cleveland Indians in 2002 as a national crosschecker.[4]
In the fall of 2002, the Toronto Blue Jays named him as an Assistant to the General Manager. He was moved up to Assistant GM in October 2007. Alex Anthopoulos also made LaCava Director of Player Development in 2009.[5] LaCava was considered a candidate to become GM for the Baltimore Orioles,[6] but turned down their offer,[7] in order to stay with the Toronto Blue Jays.
After the 2015 season, Anthopoulous opted not to remain with the Blue Jays. On November 2, 2015, LaCava was named the Blue Jays' vice president of baseball operations and interim general manager[8] by new team president Mark Shapiro.[9]
References
- ^ http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/team/front_office.jsp?c_id=tor
- ^ "Central Catholic has many ties to its 1979 baseball team". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
- ^ "GM Candidate: Tony LaCava". MLB Trade Rumors.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
interimwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Griffin, Richard (October 10, 2009). "Blue Jays struck by winds of change". Toronto: thestar.com. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- ^ "Orioles Insider: Orioles close on LaCava? - Baltimore Orioles: Schedule, news, analysis and opinion on baseball at Camden Yards - baltimoresun.com". Weblogs.baltimoresun.com. October 31, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- ^ "Sources: Toronto Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava turns down Orioles GM position - MLB News | FOX Sports on MSN". Msn.foxsports.com. November 16, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- ^ http://globalnews.ca/news/2313440/toronto-blue-jays-president-mark-shapiro-speaks-to-media-on-anthopoulos-departure/
- ^ http://globalnews.ca/news/2313440/toronto-blue-jays-president-mark-shapiro-speaks-to-media-on-anthopoulos-departure/
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)