Corey Brock dropped (are the cool kids still saying 'dropped'?) a new article over at the Padres' official site this morning about the club's newest front-office hire, Logan White, and how he's settling in to his new surroundings. It's a good, informative read which touches on his background and also details what his new job as special advisor to the GM and director of pro scouting will entail. What I found most fascinating is what led him to choose to leave his employer of the past 13 years, the Dodgers.
A few days ago when I was doing my digging for Dodgers fans' reactions to the Padres hiring White, I came across some speculation that he was edged out in the wake of Andrew Friedman taking the organization's reins. Brock's article snuffs those rumors, stating that not only was White's job secure, he was also looking forward to working with his new boss. Leaving was not even a consideration until one thing happened: A.J. Preller called.
"I couldn't pass it up," White said on Wednesday. "Andrew was such a class act through all of this. As I told him, with the timing, in a different time and a different place, I think that we would have worked great together. And I have so much respect for [Dodgers president and CEO] Stan Kasten. I would not have left the Dodgers for any other job.
"I would not have left the Dodgers for any other job." I really enjoyed reading that. The article goes on to explain why this particular opportunity was the one for him. I'm not going to completely break it down here, because that would disincentivize you from reading Mr. Brock's work, but the presence of A.J. Preller and Don Welke plays into it.
It's very encouraging to me that the Padres are becoming something that people actually want to be a part of. The dream-team front office seems like just a start; I can already imagine reading about this hire next November in the first chapter of a hastily published book about the newest World Series champions.