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Live Chat With Former Cubs GM and MLB Pitcher Ed Lynch
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Ed Lynch
8:40
Hello everyone, Ed Lynch here, I hope I can answer your questions today today.
Cards fan
8:40
Hi, how does one become a major league General Manager? What type of schooling or training do you need? Thanks for the chat
Ed Lynch
8:52
There are several paths to being a GM, 30 years ago a significant number of the GMs that were running clubs were former players, that has obviously changed. The most important asset you can bring to the table is a true love and passion for the game, know the game and the issues surrounding the game inside out. No matter how well you know the game and the issues surrounding the game you have to get hired by someone. Internships are the best for young people straight out of school if want to get your foot in the door. There are only 30 Major League Organizations but there are over 120 minor league teams so do not forget that route. The next thing is be PERSISTENT! Everyone who is successful in MLB or hollywood or wall street has dealt with rejection, don't get discouraged! Get the Baseball Directory and EMail every MLB AND Minor league club over and over until they get so sick of hesring from you that they give you a job.
Aaron
8:53
Good morning! What's the hardest part of being a major league GM?
Ed Lynch
8:58
There are many difficult things a GM has to deal with, if you are the Pirates or the Royals it will most likely be trying to compete with teams who have 10 times the revenues that you have, if you are the Yankees or the Mets it may be the the expectations placed on you because you have 10 times the revenues of your competition. If you have thin skin find something else to do because you are going to be judged every day by the media and the fans who may not know the limitations placed on you.
Brayden
8:58
Hey Ed I was wondering when scouting amateur talent what did you look for? As a GM did you focus more on measurables or eye tests?
Ed Lynch
9:01
Great question Brayden, I'm a big believer in vision, there's an old saying that you can't hit what you can't see so eye tests for me are of vital importance.Also the other factors such as your tools and your toughness factor in but vision is a huge first step.
Merrill
9:01
Scouting reports are incredibly detailed these days. When you were pitching did you keep an actual “book” on hitters, or did you rely more on memory of past match ups & whatever info the team provided?
Ed Lynch
9:08
When I was pitching there was no interleague play and only 2 divisions so after a year or 2 I knew every hitter in the National League. Now, every team plays every team at least 1 series so the pool of players you have to face is enormous. If I was facing a hitter i didn't know i would stick to the basics, get ahead in the count and expand the zone, also a Huge part of attacking hitters was pitching to situations facing a LH hitter with a base stealer on first in a double play situation, I would pitch hard away so he doesn't pull a ground ball thru the right side in the huge hole. I just don't think hitters today let the situation dictate their approach so it's mor difficult now.
Ben J
9:08
Were there any trades or signings you can remember that were on the “goal line” and didn’t come to fruition that would been massive
Ed Lynch
9:12
In 1998 I was trying to acquire Randy Johnson from Seattle but not only did I not get to the goal line I never got into the red zone. Houston got him for Freddy Garcia Carlos Guillen and John Halama we didn't have that caliber of player who were that close to the big leagues so sometimes you just don't have what it takes to get a deal done.
Yet Another Cards Fan
9:13
Hi Ed, thanks for having this chat! I wanted to ask: how closely did you work w/your teams' managers on trades, free agents, etc.? And, in the other direction, how much influence did you have in their day-to-day lineup decisions? (We get a rather conflicted and overbearing depiction of this relationship in the film version of Moneyball, but I'm not sure if that's anywhere close to standard.)
Ed Lynch
9:20
I dealt with my Managers everyday about every issue that came under his area of responsibility, everything, as in life, is a negotiation, I would never demand the Manager have a certain batting order but if Sosa is hitting 8th the manager is certainly going to here from me.LOL Also if he wants to keep our 20 year old top prospect on the big league team out of Spring Training I would step in and make sure that kid goes to the minor leagues and continues his development. Today I think GMs hire young managers who will not push back when they go down and hand them a lineup on a daily basis, that situation happens more than people know.
Nick
9:20
I really appreciated your work with the Mets in the early 80s. Leaving in 1986 when you had contributed so much to the team that eventually won must have been bittersweet. I hope you realize how much Met fans appreciate your contribution to making the team competitive.
Ed Lynch
9:23
Thanks Nick, my years with the Mets as a player were the best of my career, I witnessed a team go from last place to a World series Championship. I saw young players like Doc Straw and veterans like Keith and Kid make a huge impact on the field and in the clubhouse.
Cubsfan
9:23
Did you drive to Wrigley or take the El on a regular basis?
Ed Lynch
9:25
I drove, I lived in Lake Forest so the El wasn't feasible plus I didn't want to get beat up after a tough loss on the El. Lol
TRIPLE PLAY
9:26
Long time Cubs fan here---actually remember the triple play you started against the Gianes.   Do you recall that and were you part of any others?
Ed Lynch
9:30
I do remember that triple play, first and 3rd obviously no outs, I remember releasing the ball and hearing "there he goes" meaning the guy on first was running on the pitch, Mike Aldrete, the hitter hit a rocket right at my face, I stuck my glove up and somehow caught it and immediately threw to Davy Lopes at 3rd base and got that runner on a bang bang play because I new the runner at fist was standing on 2nd. My glove hand was numb for 2 days.
baseball gods rolling down the hill laughing
9:31
Hi Ed. Thanks for chatting. I saw you pitch for the Mets for your whole time here. Thanks for your leadership for the younger pitchers.
Ed Lynch
9:37
Thanks, no team did better in all phases of player procurement than the Mets of that era. They drafted Straw, Doc, Roger McDowell, Randy Myers, Lenny Dykstra, they acquired Ron Darling and Walt Terrell for Lee Mazzili, they acquired Keith Hernandez for Neil Allen and Rick Ownby, they acquired Bobby Ojeda for Calvin Shiraldi and Wes Gardner and they signed Gary Carter as a free agent, I was lucky to survive it long enough to see everythin in pace but I didn't make it to the promised land.
Wally Waveland
9:37
i just wanted to say thank you for bringing Kerry Wood to the North Side.
Ed Lynch
9:43
Thanks Wally, That was my 1st Draft as GM. we were picking 4th. We knew the Angels were going to take Nebraska's Punter, a guy named Darrin Erstad. lol. we knew the Padres were going to take Ben Davis,a catcher out of the Philadelphia area, the question was who Seattle was going to take, if they took Kerry, who we really wanted, we were taking Todd Helton, Seattle took Jose Cruz Jr. so we took Woodie. To this day Todd has no idea how close his career and life could have been 180 degrees different.
Andy
9:45
Hi Ed. Thank you for your time. Why is sinker not in vogue in today's game? Surely if Kevin Brown, Derek Lowe, Brandon Webb...etc play today and they eat a lot of quality innings, that should be quite valuable to clubs right?
Ed Lynch
9:48
The plus sinker will always be in vogue but with the uppercut, I don't care if I strikeout approach being taught now It very difficult for a hitter to put a high FB in play so the max effort air it out approach being taught now IS in vogue.
The Bernie Lean
9:48
How did your experience as a player shape your approach to personnel interactions when “sitting on the other side of the desk” so to speak- as management.
Ed Lynch
9:54
My experiences as a player had great influence on me as a GM but even more so as a scout, numbers are very important when measuring a players value but championships are won by players that post up, thats a euphemism for being tough enough to play thru pain and not go on the DL, and players who compete meaning they produce with everything on the line. I claimed Gary Gaetti off the waiver wire in 98 and almost every team passed on him until we acquired him and he had as much to do as anyone for us getting to the post season. Some of these analytical darlings are paper tigers and you will never win with them.
JDP
9:55
Hi Ed, thanks for doing this! At the end of the day, what do you look back on with more fondness, your playing days or your front office days?
Ed Lynch
9:59
Thanks JDP, my fondest memories as a player are the friends I made that are still my friends over 30 years later, guys like Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling, Billy Beane, Rger McDowell and many, many more. My fondest as a GM were living in one of the great cities in America and going to work everyday at the Cathedral of baseball.... Wrigley Field
Jason
9:59
Do you think Keith Hernandez should be in the hall of fame?
Ed Lynch
10:02
I ABSOLUTELY , POSITIVELY BELIEVE Keith belongs in the HOF, no one player of his era not only performed at his level on the field but changed the culture of an entire Organization in the clubhouse like he did.
Jay
10:03
During your time as GM, did you find that any teams were particularly easy or difficult to work with when it came to making trades?
Ed Lynch
10:05
When you are trying to make trades the personal relationships you have with other GMs is vital, certain guys had the reputation of over asking for players in return or flat out lying thru their teeth. the key is knowing that to get value you need to offer someting the other guy wants or needs.
Best/Worst
10:06
Looking back---what was your best and not to put you on the spot, worst trade you ever made?
Ed Lynch
10:09
The best trade i made was Brant Brown for John Lieber, the worst was John Garland for Matt Karchner.... Ok I said it, now leave me alone Lol
Joshua David
10:09
Thanks for doing this! What were some of your favorite catchers to work with and why?
Ed Lynch
10:12
I tell people that Gary Carter was my favorite catcher and they ask.. did he block balls well? Did he call a good game? I say no... He hit a 3 run homer every time I pitched! Seriously though Jody Davis was the best, not only game caller but the best overall in all facets of the catchers game.
Merrill
10:13
What was the process around finding out you got drafted back in 1977? As a 22nd round pick, did you have a pretty good idea going in that you’d get picked or was it more of a surprise?
Ed Lynch
10:16
Big Surprise. I hurt my arm my senior year at USC ( That's South Carolina ) and I had never talked to any scout at any time and I remember standing in line in the cafeteria at the ROOST, which was the Gamecocks athletic dorm and a teammate came up to me and told me I had been drafted by the Texas Rangers and my response was NO S$%t.
Rules Changes
10:17
How do you think the dynamics of a GM have to change with the rules changes----does it get even MORE analytical and one needs to be more predictive to get ahead of the curve?
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