Jim Bowden | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1961-05-18)May 18, 1961 (age 63) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Education | Rollins College (BA) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1985–present |
James Goodwin Bowden IV (born May 18, 1961) is an American baseball analyst, broadcaster and former executive. He is a co-host of SiriusXM's "Inside Pitch" onMLB Network Radio and a columnist forThe Athletic. He previously worked forESPN, writing a blog for ESPN.com titled "The GM's Office". He used to be a host and co-host on Fox Sports Radio, a baseball analyst forFoxSports.com and a Baseball Insider for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels for Fox Sports West. He has held positions of senior vice president and general manager for both theCincinnati Reds andWashington Nationals. On October 16, 1992 he became the youngest general manager in baseball history. He was named MLB Executive of the Year byBaseball America in 1999. Bowden's teams finished in first place in 1994 and 1995. Bowden has also worked in television forESPN andFox Sports West as well as local television and radio stations in bothCincinnati and Washington, D.C.
Bowden was born inBoston, Massachusetts and raised inWeston, Massachusetts, andBoothbay Harbor, Maine. He graduated fromRollins College in 1983 with a B.A. degree in communications and business administration. He was the sports director at the college radio station as well doing the play by play for both the baseball and soccer teams. His broadcast partners included Chris "Mad Dog" Russo (Class of 1982).[1] His entry to professional baseball came as an assistant in thePittsburgh Pirates media relations department in 1985. He was a former college roommate of Squire Galbreath, whose father Dan and grandfatherJohn were the principal owners of the Pirates. General managerSyd Thrift was impressed with Bowden and asked him to join the Pirates' baseball operations department as an administrator. Bowden computerized the Pirates' scouting files, and became a protégé to Thrift. He followed Thrift to theNew York Yankees,[2] and eventually moved to the Cincinnati Reds where he was later promoted by the Reds Owner,Marge Schott, to general manager. He also served as team president during her suspension in 1993.
His first role as a general manager was with the Cincinnati Reds at age 31 in 1992. When he took this position, he was the youngest general manager in the history ofMajor League Baseball (MLB).[citation needed] Bowden was named Major League Executive of the Year in 1999 byThe Sporting News after leading one of the lowest payroll teams in baseball to 96 wins.[3] In 1993 Bowden fired rookie managerTony Pérez after only 44 games.[4] Perez was a star player in Cincinnati and immensely popular with Reds fans. At the time, it was the earliest firing of a first-year manager in 65 years.[5] The firing drew significant criticism from Cincinnati fans.[6] However, he replaced Perez withDavey Johnson, who went on to lead the Reds to a division title in 1995.[citation needed] In 1998 Bowden tradedJeff Shaw to theLos Angeles Dodgers for infielderPaul Konerko and left-handerDennys Reyes.[7] This move was met with shock in the Cincinnati area as Shaw, an all-star and Cincinnati native, signed with the Reds at a discounted rate prior to the season.[8] At the time Shaw was quoted as saying "We had a handshake deal that he wasn't going to trade me. Three months later, he traded me ... If I had been in the room with him, I would have killed him."[9] However, the Shaw-Konerko trade turned out to be a lopsided one, with Konerko making six All-Star teams in his career (later with the White Sox).[10] He continued with the Reds until being fired in 2003.[11] Bowden is perhaps best known for his drafting ofJoey Votto,Adam Dunn, andAaron Boone, and his trades forKen Griffey Jr.Denny Neagle,John Smiley,Kevin Mitchell,Deion Sanders,José Guillén andAlfonso Soriano. He was the first GM to propose the use of Instant Replay in 1992 and also has supported the concept of trading amateur draft picks.[citation needed]
After he was fired by Cincinnati, Bowden worked as a commentator onESPN before being hired by Major League Baseball to serve as GM of theMontreal Expos, who were soon to become theWashington Nationals, in November 2004. The team acquired players such asRyan Zimmermann, Alfonso Soriano, Adam Dunn,Josh Willingham, José Guillén,Danny Espinosa,Tyler Clippard,Luis Atilano,Jordan Zimmermann,Chris Marrero andDerek Norris during his tenure.
In 2006, Bowden tradedGary Majewski from the Nationals to the Reds along withBill Bray,Royce Clayton, andBrendan Harris forAustin Kearns,Felipe López, andRyan Wagner.[12] The trade caused some controversy, as the Reds front office was apparently unaware of cortisone shots that had been given to Majewski because of arm pain before the trade.[13] It was alleged that Majewski was known to be injured by Bowden and the trade was an attempt to dump him for some value to some unsuspecting team. In his time with the Nationals Majewski was an effective pitcher, with a 2.93 ERA in 2005 and a 3.58 ERA with Washington up until he was traded. With the Reds he had very little success, with a 7.28 ERA in parts of three seasons. He was not re-signed after the 2008 season and to date has not pitched in the major leagues again. A grievance was filed with MLB alleging misconduct by Jim Bowden and the Washington Nationals.[14] MLB has never revealed their findings and no punishment is on record.[citation needed]
In February 2009, it was reported that Bowden along with former special assistantJosé Rijo were part of an FBI federal investigation into the skimming of signing bonus money from Latin American baseball players. He resigned from the Nationals on March 1, 2009.[15][16]
Bowden is a co-host of theSirius XM Radio showInside Pitch, which airs on theMLB Network Radio channel. He also is a baseball analyst and insider forESPN, participating in video shoots and podcasts on ESPN.com, and serves as a substitute analyst forSunday Night Baseball broadcasts onESPN Radio.
He has been a host onFox Sports Radio, a baseball analyst for FoxSports.com, and a baseball insider for both theLos Angeles Dodgers andLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim forFox Sports West. His broadcasting career has also included appearances for ESPN'sCold Pizza,SportsCenter,ESPNEWS, andBaseball Tonight. He also worked for local television and radio stations in both Cincinnati, Ohio and Washington, D.C., while he was a Major League senior VP and general manager in each respective city for a combined 15 years.