HOUSTON ( Associated Press) – In his job as the new general manager of the Houston Astros, Dana Brown aims to keep the team at the top of the Major Leagues.
“I’m coming in for a winning team, and a big part of what I want is to keep this winning position going for a long time,” he said. “We want to continue to build, sign, develop players and be successful and win.”
Brown was hired on Thursday as the Astros’ new general manager, replacing James Click, whose contract was not renewed and who crowned World Series champions with the Astros.
Brown served the last four seasons as the Atlanta Braves’ vice president of scouting.
Astros owner Jim Crane said, “He has a lot of analytical knowledge.” “Based on what we’ve seen with the Braves, he’s a great appraiser of talent. He has knowledge of player development and retention. The Braves were often able to extend certain contracts with their players. He has a talent for communication.” … He’s a baseball player, he knows baseball inside and out, and that impressed us.”
Brown, 55, became the only black general manager in Major League Baseball. He joins Dusty Baker to form only the second black GM-manager pairing in major league history.
The first was formed by manager Ken Williams and manager Jerry Manuel with the Chicago White Sox.
The new manager said he had interviewed with the Mets and Mariners in previous years for that job. He said Commissioner Rob Manfred told him to remain optimistic that his time would come.
Brown served with the Blue Jays as special assistant to the general manager from 2010–18. And between 2001 and 2009 he was the director of scouting for the Nationals/Expos. He began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a scouting supervisor.
Klick took over as general manager prior to the 2020 season, shortly after a sign-stealing scandal that led to the firing of then-general manager Jeff Luhwan and manager AJ Hinch. The click came from the Tampa Bay Rays.
