William Richard Lajoie (September 27, 1934 – December 28, 2010) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

and front-office executive. The

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

from 1984 to 1990, he helped to build, then served as GM of, the world champion 1984 Tigers.

Biography

Born in

Wyandotte, Michigan Wyandotte ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 census. Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detroit on the Detroit River, and it is part of the coll ...

, Lajoie attended

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

, earning a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in 1956. An

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n athlete at WMU, he was signed by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

organization following graduation. After a nine-year playing career as a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

s of the Orioles, Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers,

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

, Lajoie became a scout and minor league manager with Cincinnati. He then joined the Tigers organization in 1969 as a member of the

scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

department. By 1979 he was named the assistant general manager to Tigers GM Jim Campbell. During his time as GM, Lajoie is credited with several transactions that helped the Tigers to the

1984 World Series The 1984 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1984 season. The 81st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the Nationa ...

championship and a 1987 division title. Notable transactions include signing aging veteran

Darrell Evans Darrell Wayne Evans (born May 26, 1947) is a former American baseball player, coach and manager. He played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), beginning his career as a third baseman with the Atlanta Braves (1969–1976, 1989), alternatin ...

in 1984; trading

John Smoltz John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967), nicknamed "Smoltzie" and "Marmaduke", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2009, all but the last year with the Atlanta Braves. An eight-time A ...

for

Doyle Alexander Doyle Lafayette Alexander (born September 4, 1950) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue J ...

in 1987, and

Kirk Gibson Kirk Harold Gibson (born May 28, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He is currently a color commentator for the Detroit Tigers on Bally Sports Detroit and a special assistant for the Tigers. As a player, Gibson ...

's departure as a free agent following the 1987 season. While ridiculed by Detroit fans now, the Smoltz trade helped the Tigers make the playoffs in 1987, as Alexander posted 9 wins and 0 losses in 11 starts, with a 1.53

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. Smoltz, at the time, was a lightly regarded prospect in the low

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

. After an internal power struggle in 1990 (the Tigers had hired

Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of ...

as team president), Lajoie resigned was replaced as Tigers GM by his assistant, Joe McDonald. He then served as a special assistant or consultant to the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

(1991–98),

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

(2001–02),

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

(2003–06),

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

(2006–09) and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

(2009–10). Lajoie played a high-profile consulting role in the Boston front office during the brief interregnum between November 2005 and February 2006 caused by the temporary resignation of Red Sox general manager

Theo Epstein Theo Nathaniel Epstein (born December 29, 1973) is an American Major League Baseball executive, who currently works for MLB as a consultant. He was the vice president and general manager for the Boston Red Sox and then the president of baseball o ...

. He was the senior baseball official, under president/CEO

Larry Lucchino Lawrence Lucchino (born September 6, 1945) is an American lawyer, best known as an executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served as president of the Baltimore Orioles, president/CEO of the San Diego Padres, and president/CEO of th ...

, with the Red Sox delegation to the 2005 winter baseball meetings and was instrumental in the multi-player trade with the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

that netted

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Josh Beckett Joshua Patrick Beckett (born May 15, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). A three-time MLB All-Star, he played for the Florida Marlins, the Boston Red Sox, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. After ...

and

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

Mike Lowell Michael Averett Lowell (born February 24, 1974) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 13-year career, Lowell played for the New York Yankees (1998), Florida Marlins (1999–2005), and the Boston Red Sox (2006&ndas ...

; both were key figures in the club's

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. A few days later, he traded Red Sox starting shortstop

Édgar Rentería Édgar Enrique Rentería Herazo (; born August 7, 1975), nicknamed "The Barranquilla Baby", is a Colombian former professional baseball shortstop. He threw and batted right-handed. He played for the Florida Marlins, the St. Louis Cardinals, the ...

to the

for third baseman prospect

Andy Marte Andy Manuel Marte (October 21, 1983 – January 22, 2017) was a Dominican professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, and Arizona Diamondbacks. He also played in the ...

. However, upon Epstein's return, Lajoie resigned, and a few weeks later became a top advisor to Dodgers general manager

Ned Colletti Ned Louis Colletti Jr. is an American sports executive with 40 years experience in Major League Baseball, is a four-time Emmy Award-winning baseball analyst, a professor of Sports Administration at Pepperdine University, the author of the best-se ...

. He joined Pittsburgh in a similar role in June 2009, assisting GM

Neal Huntington Neal Alden Huntington (born February 4, 1969) is the former General Manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball and currently works in the front office of the Cleveland Guardians. Background A native of Amherst, New Hampshire, Hunt ...

. In 1988, Lajoie was honored with a distinguished alumni award from the

Alumni Association. As a

front office The front office is the part of a company that comes in contact with clients, such as the marketing, sales, and service departments. The term has more specific meaning in different industries. Types General offices The function of front office ...

member, Lajoie won World Series Championships with the

in 1984, the

in 1995, and the

in 2004. He died at age 76 near

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

References

General * Kline, Chris, Leventhal, Josh and Lingo, Will, editors, ''Baseball America 2007 Directory.'' Durham, North Carolina:

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

, 2007. Specific

External links

WMU Distinguished Alumni Award - Bill Lajoie

Baseball America-Executive Database

Baseball-reference.com (minor league)

Myers, Gene. "Former Tigers general manager Bill Lajoie dies at 76," ''Detroit Free Press'', Wednesday, December 29, 2010.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lajoie, Bill 1934 births 2010 deaths All-American college baseball players Amarillo Gold Sox players Atlanta Braves executives Atlanta Braves scouts Atlanta Crackers players Baseball players from Michigan Boston Red Sox executives Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Cincinnati Reds scouts Dallas Rangers players Detroit Tigers executives Detroit Tigers scouts Los Angeles Dodgers executives Lubbock Hubbers players Major League Baseball executives Major League Baseball general managers Major League Baseball scouting directors Miami Marlins (IL) players Milwaukee Brewers executives Montreal Royals players Omaha Dodgers players People from Wyandotte, Michigan Pittsburgh Pirates executives St. Paul Saints (AA) players San Antonio Missions players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Syracuse Chiefs players Texas City Texans players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Vancouver Mounties players Western Michigan Broncos baseball players Wilson Tobs players York White Roses players