Following 22 years in the wilderness, the Blue Jays built up a lot of goodwill this season. I was personally obsessed with this team after the trade deadline, perhaps the greatest trade deadline of all-time. You can thank Alex Anthopoulos for that.
Mark Shapiro, hired on the last day of a fantastic August for the Blue Jays, becomes president and CEO on Monday. From what I gather, Shapiro wanted final say on all baseball transactions, as did Anthopoulos. As power struggles go, this was no contest, so Anthopoulos walked away.
If not over money, Anthopoulos’ departure almost certainly linked to changing dynamic of #BlueJays’ front-office with Shapiro’s arrival.