| Grady Fuson | |
|---|---|
| Oakland Athletics | |
| Born: (1956-04-19)April 19, 1956 (age 68) San Diego,California | |
Grady Lee Fuson (born April 19, 1956) is an Americanprofessional baseballscout and executive who is a special adviser for theOakland Athletics ofMajor League Baseball.
Fuson grew up inKearny Mesa, San Diego. He attendedKearny High School.[1] Fuson playedcollege baseball for ajunior college before transferring to theUniversity of Puget Sound, where he finished his college career with thePuget Sound Loggers inDivision I of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). He graduated in 1978.[2]
Fuson playedprofessional baseball for theSalem Senators, anindependent team. He led the Senators with a .320batting average in 1978, but batted .198 in 1979.[3] He was assistant baseball coach for Puget Sound in 1980 and became head coach in 1981, the youngest coach in NCAA's Division I.[2] Before the 1982 season, theOakland Athletics hired Fuson as an areascout for thePacific Northwest and to coach for theIdaho Falls A's. Through 1995, he scouted and coached for various Oaklandfarm teams.[2] In 1985, he became manager of theMedford A's.[3]
Fuson was Oakland's director of scouting from 1995 to 2001.[4] TheTexas Rangers hired Fuson as assistantgeneral manager on November 1, 2001, alongsideJohn Hart as the new general manager, with the agreement that Fuson would succeed Hart after the 2004 season.[5] Fuson was put in charge of the entire farm system.[6] Despite the agreement, the Rangers chose to retain Hart as their general manager for 2005, and dismissed Fuson.[5][7]
In 2005, the Padres hired Fuson as a special assistant to the general manager,Kevin Towers.[8] He became a vice president of scouting and player development. The Padres fired Fuson after the 2009 season, when they hiredJed Hoyer as their general manager.[9] In 2010, he returned to Oakland as an adviser on scouting and player development.[4] In 2017, Fuson won theSheldon "Chief" Bender Award, given for service in player development, and the Scout of the Year Award, presented annually at theWinter Meetings.[10]
Fuson was portrayed inMoneyball byKen Medlock. In the movie, Oakland Athletics’ General ManagerBilly Beane fires Fuson, though in reality, Fuson appreciated Beane's approach and left for Texas voluntarily.[11][12]