#65 - Bill Stoneman, GM
Bill Stoneman pitched for the Angels for a few months in 1974 at the tail end of a pleasant little career in baseball. 25 years later, he was hired as the General Manager of the Angels and the rest was (and continues to be) history.
Would the Angels have won the 2002 World Series and Division titles in 2004 and 2005 had another besides Bill Stoneman been their General Manager?
My simple answer to this is: NOPE.
How does one gage a successful GM? Looking at Free Agent acquisitions would be deceptive, as they indicate more about ownership's purse-strings than they do. Looking at who was traded and who was given up is a better indication:
Best Trade so far: Kimera Bartee for Chone Figgins
Worst trade: None
Worst move so far: Releasing Bobby Jenks
Best move so far: If Arte gets credit for signing Vlad and Scioscia gets credit for suspending Guillen, Bill Stoneman gets credit for signing Brendan Donnelly in January, 2001.
Major Acquisitions and Expulsions:
IT WORKED!
Angel Career had substantial impact:
Kevin Appier, Chone Figgins, Brad Fullmer, Adam Kennedy.
Versus: Post-Angel career was excellent:
Jim Edmonds, Jose Guillen.
ANALYSIS: Say what you want about clubhouse chemistry, Stoneman got plenty of value for two of the biggest assholes to ever wear a Major League Uniform.
THE JURY'S STILL OUT...
Angel Career may still have some upside:
Edgardo Alfonzo, Scott Dunn, Maicer Izturis, Dustin Moseley, Juan Rivera, J.C. Romero.
Versus: Post-Angel Career may still have some upside:
Dusty Bergman, Alexi Casilla, Steve Finley, Pedro Liriano, Wil Nieves
ANALYSIS: Liriano might be superior to Dunn, Casilla might be better than Izturis one day but Rivera smokes Finley and Romero crushes fellow Lefty Bergman, leaving Alfonzo and Moseley to outperform Nieves.
Mediocre players Bill Stoneman ACQUIRED through trades:
Kent Bottenfield, Wilmy Caceres, Mickey Callaway, Jose Nieves, Sal Fasano, Ron Gant, Gary Glover, Glenallen Hill, Alex Ochoa
Mediocre players Bill Stoneman GOT RID OF through trades:
Kimera Bartee, Darren Blakely, Kent Bottenfield, Wilmy Caceres, Brian Cooper, Seth Etherton, Jorge Fabregas, Mike Fyrhie, Doug Nickle, Ramon Ortiz, Johnny Raburn, Ronnie Ray, Javier Rodriguez, Scott Schoeneweis, Mo Vaughn
COULDA SHOULDA WOULDA...
Players released who are kicking ass: Bobby Jenks, Derrick Turnbow
THEY MIGHT BE COULDA SHOULDA WOULDA...
Players released who still may have some upside: Tim Bittner, Zach Sorensen
FINAL ANALYSIS:
Ditching Jenks and Turnbow cost him 10 places on this list. He will always be in the Top 100, but each season will see his position fluctuate.