Rob Neyer's latest is an excellent interview with the man who succeeded J.P. Ricciardi in Oakland. Asked how someone gets into a job many of us envy, Paul DePodesta brings to mind Branch Rickey's recipe for luck -- opportunity meets design.
"You have to be really lucky. That's a huge component, but there's just not much you can do about it. But you can do everything possible to put yourself into position to take advantage of an opportunity, which is doing your best to increase your luck. I went to work in the Canadian Football League and the American Hockey League, because I wanted to get as much experience in sports as I possibly could. I tried to meet as many people as I possibly could, so that should there be an opening in baseball or football or whatever, I was going to find about it, and I was going to fight for it."
Working in the CFL and AHL? That's determination. Studying at the University of Beane is a just reward for his efforts, and that will benefit a team smart enough to hire him as their next GM. The last graduating class was exceptional.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20030312111024999