Dan Duquette

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Daniel F. Duquette was the Red Sox Executive Vice President/General Manager from 1994 through Spring Training 2002.

Contents

Before the Dream Job

Milwaukee

Dan Duquette grew up in the shadow of the Red Sox AA team (Pittsfield Red Sox) in Dalton, Massachussetts. He went to college at Amherst before joining his first Baseball organization, the Milwaukee Brewers as an Assistant in the Scouting Department in 1981.

The following year, he was promoted to become Administrative Assistant for Scouting and Player Development, a post he held for 4 years. He was promoted to Scouting Coordinator, a post he held for his final two years in the Brewers Organization.

Drafts during Duquette's tenure in Milwaukee

Montreal

Moving on Up

In 1988, Dan moved on to the Montreal Expos as Director of Player Development, a post he would hold for 3 years. Dan was promoted to Assistant General Manager in 1991.

Some of the players Montreal drafted during this time included Marquis Grissom, Chris Nabholz, Charles Johnson, FP Santangelo, Rondell White, Chris Haney, Cliff Floyd, Kirk Rueter and Mark Grudzielanek.

In 1991, Montreal General Manager Dave Dombrowski left to become General Manager of the expansion Florida Marlins, and on September 19th, 1991, Dan Duquette was named Vice President/General Manager of the Montreal Expos.


Drafts during Duquette's first four years in Montreal

His first GM-ship

Duquette's first Expo team finished the season in second place in the NL East, going 87-75 with a relatively young roster (Average Age, 27). Five of the eight primary position starters were 25 or younger, including Marquis Grissom, Larry Walker, Moises Alou and Delino Deshields.

The second year was even better record wise, as the Expos went 94-68 with an even younger roster (Average Age 25), as older players like Gary Carter made way for younger players like Wil Cordero. The Expos, however, finished second again, as the Philadelphia Phillies won the Division.

In his two drafts for Montreal, he drafted future Major League Players Jose Vidro, Scott Schoenweis and Brad Fullmer.

However, the move with the most impact came as his tenure winded down. In the Fall and Winter of 1993, the Dodgers and Expos discussed trade possibilities. The Dodgers were enamored with Delino Deshields, and Duquette asked for a young pitcher named Pedro Martinez, who had dominated out of the Dodger's bullpen in 1993. At first, Dodger's GM Fred Claire resisted, but on November 19th, 1993, he finally agreed. Pedro Martinez would prove to be Dan Duquette's Master Stroke. Two months later, Duquette moved to his dream job.

Drafts during Duquette's Montreal GM career

Montreal Post-Mortem

In 1994, the team that Dan Duquette had left behind, was well on its way to the division title that was hinted at in the previous two years. The team finished 74-40 with a 6 game lead over the Atlanta Braves as the 1994 Baseball Strike ended the season prematurely.

The Dream Job

On January, 27th, 1994, Massachussetts Native Dan Duquette was named Executive Vice President/General Manager of the Boston Red Sox, replacing Lou Gorman.

Duquette inherited a team that was already made for the 1994 season, and who was coming off of 2 losing seasons. The 1994 team was no different, as the Strike mercifully ended the Sox season, as they finished 54-61, 17 games out. However, Dan Duquette did start to make his mark in June, as he drafted Nomar Garciaparra with the Sox first pick of the 1994 Amateur Draft.

His General Managership started in earnest in the winter of 1994, as new (and temporary rules) were put in place by Major League Baseball as the Strike reached an Impasse. One of the new rules had lessened the years need to qualify for Free Agency, and Duquette signed Sammy Sosa, John Wetteland and Kevin Appier. Of course, the rules changed and those contracts were voided... but Duquette tacked into a different direction. Duquette replaced manager Butch Hobson with Kevin Kennedy, who he had worked with in Montreal. He traded for Jose Canseco and Luis Alicea, both of whom would play big roles in 1995. In early April, the Sox traded 2-time All-Star Scott Cooper and recieved Mark Whiten and Rheal Cormier. And, the team found itself ahead of schedule, competing for a division title. Before summer, Duquette signed Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, a move which served to solidify the starting rotation. Duquette made a deadline deal trade which brought Rick Aguilera to the Sox... and the Red Sox would go on to win their first Division title since 1990, finishing 86-58, and losing to Cleveland in the first round of the expanded playoffs.

1996 did not go as swimmingly, as Duquette nibbled around the edges of the roster, but keeping the team largely intact. While the Sox again had a winning record (85-77), they finished 3rd in the East. But, the offseason would become a lasting legacy. Roger Clemens was a free agent, and the Sox were unable to resign him as he signed a Free Agent Contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. While the move was not reviled at the time, Clemens regained his form in Toronto, winning two consecutive Cy Youngs. Later, his famous quote "Twilight of his career" would be turned around on Duquette, turning from a phrase hoping for the team to see the twilight years into a quote saying Clemens was in the Twilight of his career.

Other moves in the 1996 offseason included canning manager Kevin Kennedy (who was replaced by Jimy Williams), trading away Jose Canseco and signing pitcher Steve Avery. There was little to like about the 1997 season as the team finished below .500 (78-84), but did see the Nomar Garciaparra, Duquette's first draft pick, win the Rookie of the Year. However, Duquette showed great skill during the trading deadline period... as he traded Heathcliff Slocumb for 2004 World Series participants Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe on July 31st... and 2 weeks later, traded Mike Stanley for Jim Mecir and Tony Armas, Jr... a trade that would prove to be pivotal a few months later.

Duquette made his first splash of the 1997 offseason by signing CY Young award winner Bret Saberhagen on November 17th. A day later, he traded Tony Armas, Jr and Carl Pavano for Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez, the second time Duquette had traded for Pedro. This time... he would see him pitch.

1998 saw the Red Sox win their first Wild Card birth, but falling out of the playoffs in the first round. The Sox were back in the playoffs via the wild card the next year, and dramatically defeated the Cleveland Indians, and set up their first playoff series with the New York Yankees since 1978. The offseason saw Duquette make another big splash, signing Manny Ramirez away from Cleveland to an 8 year, $160 million contract.

The 2000 team saw some regression, as they finished at 85-77 and out of the playoffs. It was also the first season where Duquette seemed to be chasing quick success, perhaps on the orders of John Harrington. Prospects, such as Dennis Tankersley, Cesar Saba, Chris Reitsma and Brian Rose were traded away for the likes of Ed Sprague, Mike Lansing, Dante Bichette and Rolando Arrojo. Sean Berry made his infamous one game appearance for the Sox. In strange 40-man roster manuevers, the Red Sox lost David Eckstein on waivers one week before releasing Ed Sprague. And in a move which is a defining moment on SoSH, Duquette traded away Lew Ford in a September trade for Hector Carrasco.

2001 was a year of turmoil and injury. An early season injury to Jason Varitek necessitated the Sox trade for Doug Mirabelli, losing Justin Duchscherer in the process. A Deadline trade deal brought Ugueth Urbina to the Sox (for promising prospect Tomo Ohka)... but the season was about to go down in flames. Jimy Williams was fired, being replaced by pitching coach Joe Kerrigan, and the team rebounded slightly. However, a number of circumstances, including recurring injuries to Pedro Martinez, Nomar Garciaparra, Brian Daubach and an infamous 18-inning loss to Texas brought the Sox to their knees. A stretch of 11 straight games against the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians dropped the Sox out of any serious contention as 9/11 stopped everything for a week.

However, before the ownership change, Duquette made one more big move for the Sox. He signed Outfielder Johnny Damon to a 4-year contract during the 2001/2002 offseason.

The Red Sox sale finally went down during Spring Training of 2002, and Dan Duquette was relieved of duties.

Duquette and the International Market

One of the more important legacies left by the Duquette Era Red Sox was their work in the international Free Agent Market. While he was certainly active in the Caribbean islands, his also opened up the coffers to bring in prospects from South America (while being part of the initial seasons of the Venezuelan Summer League) and was extremely active in Asia.

Some of the players signed by Duquette includes Sun-Woo Kim, Seung-Jung Song, Robinson Checo, Tomo Ohka, Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez.

Duquette and the World Champions

While Theo Epstein will always be credited as the General Manager to finally bring a World Championship back to Boston (correctly so), the influence of Dan Duquette on this team should not be forgotten. After all, many of the players involved in that World Championship roster were signed by Dan Duquette. It would have been nearly impossible for Epstein to win the championship in his second year at the helm if not for the core that Duquette had created.

The following players were signed/acquired by Dan Duquette:

Continuing Influence

His influence continues on the Red Sox even today. The offseason trade which brought Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell to the Sox could not have happened without Duquette signees Anibal Sanchez and Hanley Ramirez. Coco Crisp came to the Red Sox in a trade with 2001 Draftee Kelly Shoppach going back to the Cleveland Indians. Relief Pitcher Manny Delcarmen was drafted by Duquette in the 2000 Amateur Draft

Duquette draftees still populate the Sox minors. The draftees include Kyle Jackson and Dusty Brown. There are also International Free Agents from the Dan Duquette era within the Sox system. Edgar Martinez, Manny Arambarris and Luis Mendoza are all Duquette International signees still playing in the Red Sox system.

Sox Teams

Sox Drafts

Sox International Free Agents

Sox Rule 5 Drafts

After the Sox

In 2003, Dan Duquette opened the Dan Duquette Sports Academy in Hinsdale Massachussetts. The academy's stated mission is "a sports training center for boys and girls ages 8-18 who are interested in learning baseball, softball, basketball and life skills from distinguished high school, college and professional coaches." Some of the personel that have helped Dan Duquette in his Sports Academy include former Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda, Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, Former NBA executive Pat Williams, Former Red Sox Manager Joe Kerrigan and former Red Sox Pitching Coach Herm Starrette.

In Late 2003, Duquette purchased a team in the Summer College Player New England Collegiate Baseball League. Originally Called the Berkshire Dukes, it has since been renamed to the Pittsfield Dukes. Also in 2003, Dan Duquette satisfied his acting urge, playing Benny Van Buren in a local charity staging of Damned Yankees.

In June of 2006, Dan was named Director of Player Development for the newly formed Israeli Baseball League.

Awards

  • Sporting News MLB Executive of the Year (1992)
  • Runner-Up, Sporting News MLB Executive of the Year (1995)

External Links

The Beginning and the End

2004 Championship/Duquette Retrospective

After the Sox

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