TORONTO – Every November since the 1980s, baseball’s general managers have convened for a few days of meetings that signal the start of off-season business. The gatherings are typically held at a posh hotel in a warm weather state like Florida, Arizona or California and more often than not there’s a golf course or two nearby, but even from these picturesque settings, there’s plenty of work to be done.
While the GM Meetings have become a higher profile event in recent years, with more media, agents and job seekers in attendance, they’re still far more modest in scale than the Winter Meetings, which are held every December with TV sets on site and dozens of employees representing most clubs. By way of contrast, only a few top executives per team are required at the GM Meetings, which creates a relatively peaceful atmosphere as teams lay the groundwork for future moves. Unless Scott Boras is addressing a crowd of media, an unassuming hotel guest might not even realize the event is taking place.
Within that setting, the GMs have scheduled sessions to hear presentations from MLB and discuss topics such as pace of play, international regulations or possible rule changes. Afterwards, there are media briefings and group dinners, and in between those scheduled obligations, team executives meet with agents, many of whom set up in and around the hotel lobby.
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This year, of course, the GM Meetings will unfold much differently. Due to the ongoing pandemic, MLB made the prudent decision to hold the 2020 meetings virtually. From a health and safety standpoint, cutting unnecessary travel and interactions makes sense: too much risk, not enough reward. But that also means there won’t be any more chance run-ins by elevator banks or in coffee shops – the conversations that can spark ideas and even deals. So, as MLB begins its first winter since the onset of the pandemic, what does it mean for the off-season calendar to go virtual?
None of the executives and agents I asked expressed even a little bit of doubt that the business of the sport could continue seamlessly. The technology is there, and everyone’s used to Zoom calls by now. If the week ahead is slow, it won’t be because executives need to be near one another to complete trades. But with all of that said, something will be lost this week, even if it’s a little hard to pinpoint.
Certainly, the most important meetings and conversations will take place just as they always would. If MLB needs to hear from GMs on the possibility of expanded playoffs, for example, those conversations will happen. It’s just as easy for Chris Antonetti to listen to trade offers for Francisco Lindor from Cleveland as it would be from Boca Raton Fla. or Palm Springs, Calif. The scenery won’t be quite as nice, but what can you do?
And if an agent has plans to discuss a client with a team this week, they’re scheduling a meeting. Surely, nobody’s relying on unexpected encounters in the Starbucks line to initiate important business, right?
“Maybe once in a while for minor-league guys that you can pitch and open someone’s eyes,” one veteran agent said.
But for top free agent like Trevor Bauer, George Springer or JT Realmuto, no way. They’re booking some time, not leaving anything to chance.
“Fair to say that for sure,” the agent continued. “And in a vacuum, it’s not a big problem for one year. But big picture it’s good for everyone to come together and put faces to names and form meaningful relationships.”
[radioclip id=5004614]While many baseball executives and agents said they’ll miss the social aspect of the meetings, teams have no trouble completing trades via text and email the rest of the year, regardless of where they’re situated. In that sense, gathering in one place is a bonus rather than a necessity. Plus, everyone’s facing the same challenge.
But even as the mechanics of the baseball off-season will continue without interruption, something unquantifiable will be lost. The informal conversations that take place over lunch or en route between conference rooms will disappear and nobody’s booking calls to replace them. Also gone is the chance to observe who’s talking to whom, who’s there and who’s not. As the GM Meetings go virtual, those little unplanned interactions are a casualty.
“This year it’s probably just going to be more like another week in November,” one baseball person predicted. “I doubt people are staying late in a zoom room to talk trades.”
Or, for that matter, grabbing a beer at the hotel bar together after the day ends. Under the circumstances, the decision to go virtual makes sense. It’s the safe thing to do, and GMs and top agents have built strong enough relationships to conduct their business perfectly well from afar.
Even so, the unplanned interactions that take place at the meetings are occasionally productive, and if nothing else they can be enjoyable. As the agent quoted above said, “What’s the point, especially working in baseball if we can’t get together once in a blue moon and celebrate it?”
