Atlanta Braves @ Bare Baseball - Baseball MLB Blog

11/15/2005
ATLANTA -- It remains to be seen whether Rafael Furcal will return to Atlanta, but the Braves seem to have already prevented experiencing what arguably would have been their biggest loss of the offseason.
After an early Tuesday-morning meeting with Braves general manager John Schuerholz, assistant GM Dayton Moore decided to withdraw as a candidate for the position of Red Sox general manager.
Had Moore left the Braves organization, he would have likely taken Roy Clark, the director of scouting, and many of the club's top scouts with him. That would have had a damaging effect on Atlanta's scouting and player-development department, which has established itself as the game's best.
Moore, 38, was believed to be the top candidate for the Boston job, which has been vacant since Theo Epstein opted not to accept a three-year extension worth $1.5 million annually. The Red Sox called Moore on Monday night to schedule a second interview. It's believed that he's the only candidate to be extended that invitation.
Though the chance to become Boston's GM intrigued Moore, he ultimately couldn't live with the reality that he'd be pulling himself away from his families. He and his wife, Marianne, have three children, all of whom are under the age of 10. In addition, he considers the Braves organization and the many talented young players with whom he's worked to be his family.
"I've got three young children, and they're all in their innocent years," Moore said. "I don't want to miss one second of seeing them grow. Going into a different environment, I don't know if that would be possible."
Obviously, the city of Boston and the intense responsibilities that are required of the Red Sox GM would drastically change the Moores' family life. In addition, the departure would take him away from such players as Wilson Betemit, who was signed by the Braves in 1996, the same year Moore joined the front office as an assistant in the baseball operations department.
Though many began to doubt Betemit as he struggled at the Triple-A level from 2002 to 2004, Moore maintained a father-like belief in the young shortstop. This past season, at the still-young age of 25, Betemit proved his critics wrong by hitting .305 in his first full big-league season.
During his Tuesday-morning meeting, Moore was never given a guarantee that he'll become the Braves GM when the 65-year-old Schuerholz retires, but he was at least given the confidence that it was a definite possibility.
Moore has been considered to be a top candidate to replace Schuerholz for many years. He joined the organization as a scout in 1994 and has since made a meteoric rise toward the top of the front office. He was named director of player development in 2002 and given the title of assistant general manager/baseball operations in August.
Along the way, he's trusted Schuerholz's direction, and continued to do so with confidence after his longtime mentor advised him that it would be in his best interest to take himself out of the running for the Boston job.
Frank Wren has served as the Braves' assistant general manager since being relieved of his duties as the Orioles' GM after just one season in 1999. Though Wren has seniority, many believe that organization would choose Moore to be Schuerholz's successor.
After the 2003 season, Baseball America named Moore the game's top GM prospect. His knowledge of the game -- which was further developed as a player and coach for George Mason University's baseball team -- and people skills set him apart.
Unlike the new generation of young, numbers-crunching GMs, Moore still holds many of the game's old-school beliefs. Instead of simply looking at a prospect's OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage), speed or batting average, he believes it's more important to trust his scouts' abilities to assess a player based on both talent and character.
Moore learned his craft under the tutelage of Paul Snyder, the legendary Braves scout who was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in August. In doing so, he gained the knowledge that it's just as important to know how a prospect handles himself off the field as it is to assess how successful he can be between the foul lines.
While using 18 rookies on the way to a 14th consecutive division title this past year, the Braves showed just how talented and important their player development has been. Some of the young stars -- such as Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann and Kyle Davies -- were all scouted by Moore and developed under his direction in the Minor League system.

Source: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/