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By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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Jared Banner was introduced as the Baltimore Orioles' new general manager on Oct. 27. He and president of baseball operations Mike Elias have a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time to do it.
A lockout is expected to shut down the sport on Dec. 1. If so, team executives will be prohibited from contacting major league players, making trades, or signing free agents until a new labor agreement is in place.
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Banner, 41, has never been a GM before and would love nothing more than to make a splash in his first month on the job. The second month will necessarily be a lot slower because of the lockout.
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Yet Banner also knows fans won't judge him until the other side of the lockout, and the games resume.
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/foul-territory/id1674957140?i=1000800700692
“I have a friend who was a former NBA GM," Banner told the Birdland Territory podcast, "and he told me, 'Hey, everything you do, just know that you're only going to be judged by how much your team wins and loses, so make sure you focus all your energy on that.'"
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The advice holds true everywhere to a degree. In Baltimore, fans who were quick to praise Elias for rebuilding a team that missed the postseason in six consecutive seasons into a 101-win juggernaut in 2023.
Those same fans were left to wonder what happened after the Orioles failed to win a postseason round in 2023 or 2024, then missed the playoffs altogether the last two years.
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Banner was hired away from the Chicago Cubs, where he was an assistant general manager, specifically to provide a fresh perspective from outside the organization.
“I think Mike wanted a tag team partner and he chose me, and I'm very humbled by that," Banner said. "But I think he chose me because he knows my personality and he knows that I'm not afraid to shake things up a little bit.”
For an organization that could use a shakeup, Banner seems like a good fit — even if fans need time to judge his acumen.
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