Allard Baird withdraws from Baltimore Orioles’ GM list – MLB News
Just a few hours after the Baltimore Orioles announced the club will interview the Boston Red Sox vice president of player personnel and pro scouting Allard Baird for the General Manager position, he has announced that he will not be available for the position.
On Friday night, Baird informed the reporters that the Orioles should not consider him for the position, as he will not be available. About three hours ago, the Orioles had shown their interest to hold Baird for the position that was emptied after the club
fired Syd Thrift after the World Series.
"I was honored the Baltimore Orioles expressed interest in me as a candidate for their GM position," Baird said. "The opportunity to possibly work side by side with Buck Showalter was very attractive. At the end of the day it came down to my loyalty to the
Red Sox (and) Ben Cherington."
Baird, who has a resume full of achievements while serving the Boston Red Sox since 2006 was the third hope for the Orioles, who have faced two candidates declining to be interviewed for the position in the past two weeks. The Orioles’ front bench was hopeful
to have Baird, who has also been a General Manager of the Kansas City Royals from 2000 to 2006.
It was the third candidate in two weeks to pull out his name from the club. Before Baird, Orioles showed their interest in hiring the Toronto Blue Jays’ Tony LaCava in the last week of October. LaCava declined to be considered and then Orioles contacted
the Los Angeles Dodgers’ DeJon Watson, who also refused to be interviewed for this position.
Baltimore Orioles won only 69 outings this season and remained at the lowest position among all Major League teams. A highly unreliable combination both in batting and in the pitching caused the club 93 defeats, which might have infused a fear of nothing
in the candidates.
Orioles have also shown interest in the former Boston Red Sox GM Dan Duquette, who still has not shown any negative response. Duquette has more than 25 years of experience in front offices of different MLB clubs. He has also been a part of the Red Sox camp
for nine years.
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