(Scottsdale) Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias beat Atlanta Braves’ Alex Anthopoulos to the finish line for the title of Major League Baseball’s quintessential leader on Tuesday after the Maryland team recorded the best record in the American League for the first time since 1997.
The Orioles went 101-61 despite having a payroll of just $67 million, 29th overallIt is of the 30 major league teams. After enjoying their first 100+ win season since 1980, the Orioles were defeated in the first round of the playoffs by the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers.
Elias, 40, graduated in 2006 from Yale University, where he also played for the Bulldogs. Louis Cardinals as a scout after college, then became director of amateur scouting and joined the Houston Astros as a special assistant to general manager Jeff Luhnow in 2011.
Elias was promoted to director of amateur scouting in 2012 and assistant general manager, responsible for player acquisition, in 2016. He later became general manager of the Orioles in 2018.
Voting was done among all 30 teams before the playoffs began. Anthopoulos finished second, ahead of Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen.
The Orioles notably recalled star catcher Adley Rutschman and rookie infielder Gunnar Henderson. They acquired pitchers Kyle Bradish and Yennier Cano on the trade market, signed Tyler Wells in the winter draft and claimed reliever Cionel Perez off waivers.
Billy Beane, executive vice president of baseball operations for the Oakland Athletics, won Major League Baseball’s first MVP award in 2018, followed by Tampa Bay Rays general manager Erik Neander, in 2019, president of baseball operations for the Oakland Athletics , Los Angeles Dodgers Andrew Friedman in 2020, San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi in 2021, and Cleveland Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti last year.
This title was announced on the occasion of the first day of the annual meeting of Major Baseball general managers.
