Was Gabe Paul really that great?

[ian2813]

I see a lot of love for Gabe Paul around here, and I have to admit it surprises me. About the only thing anyone can cite as to his "greatness" is the fact that he oversaw the building of the Bronx Zoo-era Yankees. It's true that he did a good job in acquiring players for that team, but how much of that was his own shrewdness, and how much was the fact that he worked for a franchise with deep pockets?

It's true that Gabe Paul won the Sporting News' Executive of the Year Award in 1956 for overseeing a Cincinnati Redlegs team that contended for the pennant, which suggests that he was well regarded long before coming to New York. If you look at the award's history though, it looks similar to the Manager of the Year Award, where it mainly honors guys whose teams had surprising seasons. I mean, Cam Bonifay won it in 1997 based on the Pirates' near-winning season. That should tell you it doesn't necessarily go to a great baseball mind.

I'll admit my impression of Paul is a bit biased, because for a long time, I only saw him as a guy who made a long career out of GMing mediocre-to-crappy teams, and there was also a telling passage in Terry Pluto's Our Tribe: A Baseball Memoir, which I read sometime in the early '00s. The book is one part a history of the Indians and another part the story of a father and son who bonded over the Indians where the son grew up to cover the team as a member of the media. Here's Pluto's commentary on Paul:

[T]he Tribe team I inherited was owned by F.J. "Steve" O'Neill, an elderly man who had made his money in the trucking business. He was recruited by Gabe Paul, the master of romancing money men and convincing them that what they needed to do was...drumbeat, please...own the Cleveland Indians! And better yet, Gabe Paul himself would stay around as team president to help the new owner learn the game. What a deal! At least that was Paul's sales pitch for nearly thirty years in Cleveland. The remarkable part of the story was how often it worked. There always was another guy willing to believe that Gabe Paul was just the man to turn the Indians around. Most of these guys didn't have the cash to do it, even if Paul had been the John Hart of his day. At best, Paul was a very ordinary baseball operator with little vision or creativity. Team him with George Steinbrenner in the 1970s, hand Paul a wad of money that was twice as thick as anyone else's in baseball--and yes, Paul would produce a winner.

The man was no idiot, no Frank Lane.

But when I began to cover the Indians in 1980, Steve O'Neill was bearing down on eighty years old. Paul and general manager Phil Seghi were in their seventies. The Indians were twenty-six years away from their last pennant, twenty-one years away from the Rocky Colavito trade and their last legitimate contender. They were light years away from being able to compete in baseball during the free agent era. Paul and Seghi brought in players such as Bake McBride, Manny Trillo, Gorman Thomas, and Ross Grimsley. They were all at the end of their careers. The last place they wanted to be was that old, drafty, damp Cleveland Stadium. For the most part, they were as much fun to be around as a cemetery on a rainy day.

Paul and Seghi were desperate. They knew the owner was old, and probably dying. They knew time was running out for them. They knew the rest of baseball looked at them as two old men whom the game had passed by. They desperately wanted to put together one last contender in Cleveland, to prove everyone wrong. This led to one plan after another. In 1979, they had a team based on power bats with the likes of Bobby Bonds, Cliff Johnson, Andre Thornton, and Toby Harrah in the lineup. By 1981, it was a pitching team--Len Barker, John Denny, Bert Blyleven, and Rick Waits forming one of the better rotations in baseball. But that was the strike year. Also, the Indians didn't hit. So the pitchers were traded for hitters.

It was like that, year after year. Pitchers traded for hitters, then hitters traded for pitchers. One year, it was a veteran team. The next year, the veteran players were traded for kids.

There were so many plans, there was no plan.

It sounds like Paul managed to have such a long career due to having good people skills and being reasonably competent, but I see folks who think he has an argument for the Hall of Fame, and that seems to be going a bit too far, if you ask me.

To all the Gabe Paul fans, if I'm missing something, what is it? Was Gabe Paul better than he appears? Does building one great team make a GM great, while the rest of his failures deserve to be overlooked?

[PVNICK]

I think part of it is backlash against Steinbrenner getting the credit for the Bronx Zoo Yankees, much like Gene Michael gets put forward for the "Core Four" era Yankees.

this is C&P from Wiki. It is not inaccurate.

The key to re-building the Yankees was a series of trades that Paul pulled off. Paul raised some eyebrows among Cleveland fans because less than two months before he became a part of the group purchasing the Yankees and assumed the role of President for the Yankees, he dealt All-Star third baseman Graig Nettles and catcher Gerry Moses to the New York Yankees for a group of journeyman players. Then he acquired in succession: Chris Chambliss, Dick Tidrow and Oscar Gamble from his former team, the Indians; Lou Piniella from the Royals; Mickey Rivers and Ed Figueroa from the Angels; Willie Randolph, Ken Brett and Dock Ellis from the Pirates; and Bucky Dent from the White Sox

[bluesky5]

Why didn't Steinbrenner buy the Indians? That was the team he originally wanted.

[ian2813]

I think part of it is backlash against Steinbrenner getting the credit for the Bronx Zoo Yankees, much like Gene Michael gets put forward for the "Core Four" era Yankees.

this is C&P from Wiki. It is not inaccurate.

The key to re-building the Yankees was a series of trades that Paul pulled off. Paul raised some eyebrows among Cleveland fans because less than two months before he became a part of the group purchasing the Yankees and assumed the role of President for the Yankees, he dealt All-Star third baseman Graig Nettles and catcher Gerry Moses to the New York Yankees for a group of journeyman players. Then he acquired in succession: Chris Chambliss, Dick Tidrow and Oscar Gamble from his former team, the Indians; Lou Piniella from the Royals; Mickey Rivers and Ed Figueroa from the Angels; Willie Randolph, Ken Brett and Dock Ellis from the Pirates; and Bucky Dent from the White Sox

Sure, he did build a great team with his trades, as I said. But my question is whether building one great team makes him a great GM, when he didn't show any exceptional team-building skill elsewhere.

Why didn't Steinbrenner buy the Indians? That was the team he originally wanted.

The story goes that there was a deal in place for him to buy the Indians, but the Indians' owner cancelled it because he didn't like the way Steinbrenner operated. I believe Steinbrenner was recruited to buy the Indians by Gabe Paul, which is why he ended up following Steinbrenner to the Bronx.

[Chadwick]

I seem to recall a story about Gabe Paul discovering the body of Willard Hershberger, stealing money from his wallet or something, then bragging about it later. Don't quote me, but the story went something like that. (Paul was a hireling in the Reds front office at the time.) Does anyone else remember coming across this? I can't remember the source.

[bluesky5]

I seem to recall a story about Gabe Paul discovering the body of Willard Hershberger, stealing money from his wallet or something, then bragging about it later. Don't quote me, but the story went something like that. (Paul was a hireling in the Reds front office at the time.) Does anyone else remember coming across this? I can't remember the source.

Damn dude. Herhsberger cut himself up pretty bad, no?

[ian2813]

I seem to recall a story about Gabe Paul discovering the body of Willard Hershberger, stealing money from his wallet or something, then bragging about it later. Don't quote me, but the story went something like that. (Paul was a hireling in the Reds front office at the time.) Does anyone else remember coming across this? I can't remember the source.

I'd never heard that story, but I found the following on Google Books in Marty Appel's book Now Pitching For the Yankees: Spinning the News for Mickey, Billy, and George:

Gabe Paul was as fascinating a figure as I ever encountered in baseball. His pedigree in the game was long, even if his list of successes wasn't. He was full of swagger and blarney and had a homily for every circumstance the game might throw at him.

What he had with the Yankees, for the first time in his long career, was a bankroll. He had never worked with a team where it was okay to order memo pads with your name on them without first consulting the balance in the checkbook. There was a sense that the baseball world was watching to see what he might do with the unthinkable---money to spend!

Gabe had long ago been the traveling secretary for the Cincinnati Reds, a team owned by Powell [sic] Crosley, the Ohio broadcasting pioneer. His days in those jobs had brought him his first---and only---taste of championship baseball. The Reds of 1939 and 1940 had been pennant winners.

What I liked most about Gabe was his resilience; he adapted to whatever the rule of the day was. He was no old fogy, locked into beliefs from his formative years. When free agency came along, for instance, it would have been very natural for Gabe to say, "This game has passed me by." Instead, he rolled up his sleeves, read over the new rules, and said, "Deal me in."

Gabe never lost his respect for the buck, however, and his interest in prudent fiscal management was always present. One tale we used to tell involved a long forgotten but horrific piece of baseball history from the summer of 1940. The Reds were on their way to a second pennant, but, playing in Braves Field on August 3, the team noticed that their catcher, Willard Hershberger, backup to Ernie Lombardi, was not at the park.

A ballplayer's absence, even due to injury or illness, is very unusual, and, after some time, manager Bill McKechnie told Gabe to call the Boston hotel. Hershberger, despondent over a personal matter, had told McKechnie the day before that he was contemplating suicide. The manager talked him into better humor, felt the crisis had passed, and retired to bed.

Now, concerned, he had Gabe call. Hershberger said he was sick. Gabe told him to just come out anyway and watch the game. Hershberger agreed.

But when he failed to show, Gabe returned to the hotel, got the hotel manager to open the door to Hershberger's room, and there they discovered Hershberger's body draped over the tub, his throat slashed with roommate Billy Werber's razor.

As our version of the story went, Gabe then went to a phone and called the team's owner.

"Powell [sic]? Gabe Paul. Listen, I have good news and I have bad news. The bad news is, Hershberger's dead. Yes, it was a suicide, very sad. The good news, though, is that I managed to get his meal money back from his wallet for the rest of the trip."

The way this account tells it, Gabe Paul wasn't stealing the money for himself, only watching every penny for the ballclub. Still, he does come across as a bit heartless. In researching Gabe Paul for this thread, I got the impression that he was an opportunistic, primarily self-interested man, and this story, while perhaps a tall tale, doesn't seem out of character for someone of that type.

[Los Bravos]

this is C&P from Wiki. It is not inaccurate.

The key to re-building the Yankees was a series of trades that Paul pulled off. Paul raised some eyebrows among Cleveland fans because less than two months before he became a part of the group purchasing the Yankees and assumed the role of President for the Yankees, he dealt All-Star third baseman Graig Nettles and catcher Gerry Moses to the New York Yankees for a group of journeyman players. Then he acquired in succession: Chris Chambliss, Dick Tidrow and Oscar Gamble from his former team, the Indians; Lou Piniella from the Royals; Mickey Rivers and Ed Figueroa from the Angels; Willie Randolph, Ken Brett and Dock Ellis from the Pirates; and Bucky Dent from the White Sox

Absolutely none of which has anything to do with the Yankees deep pockets.

[ian2813]

Absolutely none of which has anything to do with the Yankees deep pockets.

I can't tell if you're being serious or sarcastic here. I'll just say that even without free agency, keeping a talented group of players together requires money. The dismantling of Connie Mack's two powerhouses proves that.

[Los Bravos]

I'll just say that even without free agency, keeping a talented group of players together requires money.

Keeping them is a different matter than assembling them in the first place, which is all I'm talking about.

[bluesky5]

Ian is there a source for that anecdote in Appel's book? I mean he walked in on a guy he knew who slit his own throat in a bath tub... and then was happy to let the owner know he got the deceased's meal money back. That's nothing short of heinous. It's not a light accusation.

[ian2813]

Ian is there a source for that anecdote in Appel's book? I mean he walked in on a guy he knew who slit his own throat in a bath tub... and then was happy to let the owner know he got the deceased's meal money back. That's nothing short of heinous. It's not a light accusation.

The quoted passage covers the entire telling of the Hershberger story as far as I could tell. Appel goes on to tell some further anecdotes about Gabe Paul and doesn't seem to pass any judgment on him for the way he handled the Hershberger incident.

He says "One tale we used to tell..." when introducing the story, so it's pretty vague as to the source. The wording suggests it was probably a story he heard several times. He also says "As our version of the story went..." so perhaps it was a legend that got passed around rather than one Gabe Paul himself told them.

Interestingly, Maury Allen shares the same story in his book All Roads Lead to October: Boss Steinbrenner's 25-Year Reign over the New York Yankees, which I also found on Google Books. He states it matter-of-factly, as though it were an undisputed story:

[Paul] was the traveling secretary when a morose player named Willard Hershberger, a backup catcher to the future Hall of Famer Ernie Lombardi, failed to show for a game one day in 1940 in Boston.

Paul was dispatched to the hotel room. He saw Hershberger in the bathtub of his hotel room, blood all around him, the thirty-year-old catcher from Lemon Grove, California, dead of self-inflicted knife wounds. Paul knew what to do.

He moved to Hershberger's clothes closet, took out the rest of his meal money for the trip, and saved the Reds about twenty bucks. Then he bragged about it. That's how some guys move up in baseball.

Perhaps this is where Chadwick heard the story, as it includes the bragging part. The wording of this version makes it sound like Gabe Paul himself was the source of the story, for Allen at least, because claiming he bragged about it seems more descriptive than one would get from a second-hand account.

And I agree with you, stories like this strike me as a poor reflection on a man's character. I suppose the writers I've quoted don't necessarily endorse his actions, but within the context of their writing, there seems to be a muted sense of admiration for his shrewdness rather than condemnation for his callousness. Of course, Gabe Paul being the master schmoozer that he was, he knew how to get people on his side and avoid making enemies, so perhaps these writers were to some extent taken in by him.

[PVNICK]

Of course we are looking at this from the sensibilities of the 21st century not the Depression. It reads like the work of a callous person now, but was it then. It brings to mind the scene in the various Scrooge movies of the Ghost of Christmas future and his laundress and others who were "pawning" the belongings after his demise.

[64Cards]

Of course we are looking at this from the sensibilities of the 21st century not the Depression. It reads like the work of a callous person now, but was it then. It brings to mind the scene in the various Scrooge movies of the Ghost of Christmas future and his laundress and others who were "pawning" the belongings after his demise.

From what I've read of this era, virtually every baseball GM was a penny pincher, it was a prerequisite to be considered for the position. Most of them had been GM's in the minors operating on very limited budgets. There wasn't much excess revenue floating around baseball then.

[ian2813]

Of course we are looking at this from the sensibilities of the 21st century not the Depression. It reads like the work of a callous person now, but was it then. It brings to mind the scene in the various Scrooge movies of the Ghost of Christmas future and his laundress and others who were "pawning" the belongings after his demise.

Yes, but the whole point of that scene was to show Scrooge how little mourned he'd be upon his future death, and how no one would care enough about him to safeguard his property, leaving it to be plundered.

From what I've read of this era, virtually every baseball GM was a penny pincher, it was a prerequisite to be considered for the position. Most of them had been GM's in the minors operating on very limited budgets. There wasn't much excess revenue floating around baseball then.

True enough, but it still comes across as petty. I read that after the Reds won the World Series, they voted a share of the money worth about $5,000 to Hershberger, which went to his mother. Why couldn't she have received that $20 too? I understand that businessmen have to watch their bottom line, but there's a point where you have you remember that your employees are human beings. At the very least, Paul shouldn't have bragged about it. If the club really needed that $20, he should've viewed his taking it as an unfortunate necessity and kept it private.