UNT College of Business students have an opportunity meet Jon Daniels, the eighth general manager in Texas Rangers history and the youngest general manager in Major League Baseball history. Daniels is scheduled as a Distinguished Lecture Series speaker on October 10, 2008, from 10:00-11:30am, in the Golden Eagle Suite in the University Union.
Daniels was promoted to his position as General Managers on in 2005, by Texas owner Tom Hicks. At the time of his appointment, Daniels was 28 years and 41 days old. In his first two seasons, Daniels and the baseball operations staff have completely overhauled the club’s farm system. Recent rankings by Baseball America list the Rangers as having the fourth-best farm system in baseball, making the largest one-year jump in the history of rankings, up from 28th just a year ago.
The accolades for several Rangers prospects can be linked to Daniels’ desire to return the organization to their roots in scouting and player development. Under his leadership, the team has opened a new academy in the Dominican Republic, placed a great emphasis on international scouting, added to the player development, amateur and professional scouting staffs, and stabilized the leadership in each department. The hiring of Jim Colborn is evidence of the club’s new commitment in the Pacific Rim, and the Rangers have held organizational meetings the past two years for the first time since 2000, a critical step towards building a foundation for sustainable success.
During the 2007 season, many of Daniels’ trades were lauded within the industry for the acquisition of several top young prospects. Players such as Elvis Andrus, Engel Beltre, Kason Gabbard, Matt Harrison, Beau Jones, David Murphy, Max Ramirez and Jarrod Saltalamacchia were all acquired in trades that took place in late July of 2007. Last year also saw Daniels’ staff conduct what was considered one of the top draft classes for any organization, securing what Baseball America ranked as the second-best draft by any Major League club.
Daniels has also made a commitment to acquiring as much local talent as possible. Seven players on this year’s Spring Training roster were either born in Texas or went to school in the state, along with several players on the Minor League side.
He has been aggressive in addressing the team’s needs at all points, including the acquisition of Josh Hamilton, Milton Bradley, Ben Broussard, Jason Jennings and Eddie Guardado this past off-season, all of who figure to play large roles in 2008. Daniels acquired outfielder Carlos Lee at the trading deadline in 2006, when the club was within striking distance in the American League West.
Daniels had served as the Rangers’ assistant general manager since July of 2004 and as the director of baseball operations from October of 2003. In his duties as assistant general manager, he was responsible for negotiating free agent, arbitration and pre-arbitration contracts while overseeing payroll, roster and budget management. Daniels negotiated the multi-year contracts signed by Hank Blalock, Michael Young and Francisco Cordero in 2004. His responsibilities also included working with the organization's professional and international scouting operations, and assisting then General Manager John Hart on all player acquisitions. Daniels joined the Texas organization in 2002 as a baseball operations assistant. He spent the 2001 season working for the Colorado Rockies baseball operations department.
A 1999 graduate of Cornell University in upstate New York, the New York City native earned his degree in applied economics and management. He and wife Robyn have a son, Lincoln, and daughter, Harper Jane, and reside in Southlake.
