Dealing: Inside the Front Office and the Process of Rebuilding a Contender

by Terry Pluto

For Indians fans who want to know what goes on inside the front office, this book tells all. It’s an in-depth look at how the team was taken apart and rebuilt as a contender again in spite of Major League Baseball’s competitive imbalance. Tribe fans grew accustomed to winning in the late 1990s. They had an owner with deep pockets, a brand-new ballpark, and a team of All-Stars who delivered a division championship nearly every year. Then, in 2002, the team’s new owners began a controversial plan to unload their popular but expensive stars and replace them with a steady stream of young prospects and veteran rehab projects. Critics scoffed, and fans stayed away. But by 2005 the plan showed promise with a 95-win season. And in 2007 it paid off, as the Indians beat the top-dollar Yankees in the playoffs and came within one game of the World Series—with a payroll less than half that of their competition. How did they do it? Veteran sportswriter Terry Pluto (who had unprecedented access to the Indians front office) carefully analyzes each big decision and tells which ones worked, which ones didn’t, and why. This rare behind-the-scenes look at a modern front office will intrigue any fan fascinated by baseball deal-making. A wealth of baseball detail that will intrigue serious fans and fantasy leaguers.

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Nonfiction

210 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Terry Pluto is a sports columnist for the Plain Dealer. He has twice been honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the nations top sports columnist for medium-sized newspapers. He is a nine-time winner of the Ohio Sports Writer of the Year award and has received more than 50 state and local writing awards. In 2005 he was inducted into the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame. He is the author of 23 books, including The Curse of Rocky Colavito (selected by the New York Times as one of the five notable sports books of 1989), and Loose Balls, which was ranked number 13 on Sports Illustrateds list of the top 100 sports books of all time. He was called Perhaps the best American writer of sports books, by the Chicago Tribune in 1997. He lives with his wife, Roberta, in Akron, Ohio."

Reviews

[Richard Grebenc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book because the author told me it is where I could find the story of Jim Thome's exit from the Indians through free agency. But then I just could not resist reading the other stories as well for a little trip down memory lane.

The author first produced this book in 2005 then came out with an update after the 2007 season in which the Tribe came up one game shy of the World Series. He chronicles the Indians from the sale of the team to the Dolans in late 1999 through the pennant run of 2007. Each chapter is an episode of those times, often dealing with personnel moves (Ramirez, Alomar, Colon, Thome, Wedge, Bradley), but also much frank discussion of (and with) the Dolans, Shapiro, and Wedge (and even Manuel and Hargrove). I always stay pretty close to the Tribe but I learned a lot of inside stuff (particularly regarding management decisions) as Pluto had lengthy interviews with these key players and others for the book.

It is fascinating to read this volume over ten years on now knowing how things turned out in the long term (Francona even gets a brief mention as a special assistant before making it big with Boston and, of course, later with Cleveland).

Great fun and interesting reading for the inveterate Tribe fan still waiting for that World Championship.

[Luella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the Cleveland Indians, and I like Terry Pluto. This was a good book.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One thing I found really interesting about this book is that it portrays Dick Jacobs (beloved former Indians owner) in a somewhat negative light and portrays Larry Dolan (hated current owner of the Indians) in a more positive light.

The book follows the Tribe's front office as they dismantle their aging powerhouse team of the 90s and moved to a younger prospect focused team. Even though the Indian's consistently under-perform, it is worth noting that this plan (which is hated by most fans) rebuilt the Indians in 3-4 years, whereas most rebuilding projects for teams take 10-15 years.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just an okay book about Cleveland Indians' deals for players. It is cool b/c they talk about how they got rid of all of their older, experienced, more expensive players and replaced them with the young powerhouse players that currently comprise the team. Only huge Indians' fans will find this remotely interesting.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great & easy read explaining the transition of the Indians from the high payroll championship years under the ownership of Dick Jacobs' to the re-building low-payroll years under the ownership of the Dolans'. One gets a great appreciation for the challenges faced by small market teams and an appreciation for what a keen, talented GM we have in Mark Shapiro.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about how the Cleveland Indians went from a World Series contender to a losing team and then back to a playoff team. This book talks about all of the moves the Indians made between the early 90's and 2007. I would recommend this book to anyone who is an Indians fan or just a baseball lover.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd say this is a kind of business book as well as a sports book. The Tribe's front office has developed a winning strategy that won't break the bank and should provide winners for the foreseeable future.

[Dr NSCA-CPT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sports Writer Terry Pluto does a masterful job explaining the inner workings of the Indians organization. In detailed fashion he describes how the front office/management team built a contender and excited the entire city of Cleveland. I highly recommend this book for all MLB fans