MLB’s loss is Rangers’ gain: Chris Young’s presence left a lasting impression on commissioner Rob Manfred - The Dallas Morning News

As commissioner of baseball, part of Rob Manfred’s job is to be stoic. Don’t respond with emotion. Keep an even keel. Save the superlatives.

Yet, this was his reaction to news that Highland Park’s Chris Young, most recently of his own inner circle, had been named the ninth general manager in Rangers history:

“It’s a huge loss for us,” Manfred said Saturday. “We will find somebody to replace his role, no doubt in my mind. But I’m not going to mislead anybody: It’s a huge loss for us.”

The inference: MLB’s loss is the Rangers’ gain.

To be sure, Manfred’s reaction was not one of anger despite the fact he’s lost two of his top vice presidents to individual clubs within the last month. Before Young, who oversaw on-field operations, Kim Ng left her vice presidency for the Miami Marlins to become the first female GM in MLB history.

Ng’s rise to the historic spot included more than 20 years as an executive with three different teams. Young’s ascent is completely different. Only three years ago, he was finishing up a 13-year career in the majors.

He went from being released by the San Diego Padres to recruited by MLB within weeks. He had quickly risen through MLB’s offices to oversee on-field operations, which included everything from overseeing disciplinary hearings to implementing speed-up initiatives. He traveled to help investigate the integrity of the manufacturing of baseballs, allegedly “juiced” and he helped write the operations manual for the COVID-19 delayed season.

As a player, he was a representative to labor negotiations with management. As an executive, he’s helped try to negotiate labor issues with players. As an executive, he was the top liaison to managers about on-field matters, was key in dealing with general managers and dealt with umpiring, too.

Though he’s never worked for a club in any capacity, he already has a unique set of skills already in place, Manfred said.

“If I was going to put together a front office right now, I’d want a combination of somebody who was a traditional baseball person who maybe played the game and pair that person with people of strong unique analytical capability. The beautiful thing about Chris is you get both of those in one package.”

The Rangers will pair Young with president Jon Daniels, who has served as GM for the last 15 years. For the time being, Daniels will continue to shepherd all baseball operations as Young gets up to speed. After that, it will likely be a more equal partnership. How long it takes for Young to get up to speed is undetermined, but the consensus is: Not very long.

“He and [Daniels] will be a superb duo,” Kansas City GM Dayton Moore said Saturday. “I think it’s a great situation for them both. There is good synergy there. He loves that area; he thrives there. I always felt it would be a really good place for Chris if he wanted to work for a club.”

And Moore should know. Young spent three years with Kansas City as a reliver and won a World Series there. When the Royals released him during the 2017 season, Moore tried to hire him then. Even told Young one day, he’d like to work for him.

“He’s been part of everything the game has to offer,” Moore said. “And that’s going to give him a lot of credibility.”

“He’s got a great presence and I don’t mean just physically,” Manfred said. “The word that always comes to mind when I talk about Chris is ‘focus.’ It’s absolutely clear he’s focused 100 percent on exactly what you are saying and that’s an increasingly rare characteristic among people.”

Manfred should know, too. More than 20 years ago, he gave a guest lecture at Princeton. Afterwards, one of the students approached him to talk. Young’s height – he’s 6-10 – made a first impression. But it was the brief conversation that left a lasting one.

“I can’t remember what the specifics or the substance of what we talked about were,” Manfred said. “But I walked away thinking he had a much better grasp of what was going on in the business side of sports than most college students.

“Our paths had crossed when he played and during collective bargaining,” Manfred added. “When [Deputy commissioner Dan Halem] came to me with the idea of Chris joining our office, I was all in from the beginning. We were excited about somebody like Chris coming into the commissioner’s office.”

On Friday, as Young was about to officially leave, the Commissioner took a call from Rangers managing partner Ray Davis. Davis, half-jokingly asked how upset Manfred was with the Rangers.

“It’s a great opportunity for him,” Manfred said. “It’s good for him. It’s good for the Rangers. And it’s good for us in the long haul. He brings a lot to the party.”

The party has now moved from MLB’s offices to Globe Life Field.

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MLB’s loss is Rangers’ gain: Chris Young’s presence left a lasting impression on commissioner Rob Manfred - The Dallas Morning News
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