Sox 88- Lou Gorman

Lou Gorman is often portrayed as a rather inept GM. His nickname, Uncle Lou, suggests and older man who means well, but basically is somewhat of a bumbler. His record with the Sox from 1984 to 1993 is an up-and-down one, but writers and fans seem to remember the mistakes more than his successes. His record in free agency is not particularly good, and is tarnished by a number of stars who got away, especially Bruce Hurst and Wade Boggs. He is also the author of the notorious 1990 trade of minor league infielder Jeff Bagwell for reliever Larry Anderson. Anderson did some okay relief work to help the Sox to the 90 AL East title. However, Anderson (surprisingly, according to Gorman) would soon be granted free agency in the "collusion" decision and defect to San Diego. Bagwell, on the other had, would spend 15 years with the Astros as one of the NL's top power hitters and help his squad to six postseason appearences. Though there are rumors of steroid use, Bagwell has never come up on any lists.

 

One of Gorman's problems was some rather unfortunate quotes. Late in the 90 season, the Oakland A's claimed outfielder Willie McGee, a two-time NL batting champion, on waivers from the Cardinals. When asked why the Sox did not put in a claim for McGee, Gorman gave a rather awkward answer. Citing the fact that the team's outfield, with starters Tom Brunansky, Ellis Burks and Mike Greenwell, was pretty strong, his response was "they way (those guys) are playing, where would we play McGee?" The quote made Gorman the target of writers and talk show hosts, who turned the statement around a bit. Eddie Andelman's Sports Huddle even presented a derisive song called "What Would We Do With Willie McGee?" Though Uncle Lou had a point, his reasoning was a bit off.It would seem that if a batting champ were available, you find a place for him.

 

Perhaps Lou's biggest mistake was hiring Butch Hobson as manager in 1992 after Joe Morgan had been fired over his objections. Hobson's record as a minor league manager was good, and he had a reputation as a hard-nosed guy who would play through injuries during his career. But what Gorman did not know-and probably should have- was that Butch had fallen into alcohol and substance abuse. This was certainly a factor in the team's lack of respect for him, especially among veterans like Roger Clemens. After two subpar seasons, the team's de-facto president John Harrington canned Gorman and hired Dan Duquette.

 

In his book One Pitch from Glory, Gorman states a number of times that he was not given a fair shake by the press, especially ever-critical Dan Shaughnessy. His ten-year record is not a bad one -837 wins and 781 losses for a .517 percentage. The club finished over .500 seven times and made the postseason on three occasions. But the organization needed an overhaul, and Duquette, despite some problems of his own, did succeed in modernizing things.

 

Unlike Tom and Jean Yawkey and Dick O'Connell, Gorman would live to see the Sox win World Series in 04 and 07. He died in April 2011, and is a member of the team's Hall of Fame.