Gordon Ian Ash (born December 20, 1951) is Vice President of Baseball Projects of the
Milwaukee Brewers. He left his role as assistant general manager with
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
in 2015. He was the general manager of the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
from 1995 to 2001.
Ash received a Bachelor of Arts degree from
York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
in 1974. After graduating, he started at the
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; french: Banque canadienne impériale de commerce) is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario. ...
working in a branch. In 1978, he joined the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
Baseball Club in the ticket department. He quickly became Operations Supervisor in 1979, Assistant Director of Stadium Operations in 1980, Administrator of Player Personnel in 1984, and Assistant General Manager in 1989.
From 1995 to 2001, he was the general manager. During his time the Blue Jays made many noteworthy draft picks, such as
Roy Halladay
Harry Leroy "Roy" Halladay III (May 14, 1977 – November 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies between 1998 and 2013. His nicknam ...
,
Craig Wilson, and
Ryan Freel
Ryan Paul Freel (March 8, 1976 – December 22, 2012) was an American professional baseball player. A utility player, Freel played second base, third base, and all three outfield positions in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles, Chicag ...
in 1995,
Billy Koch
William Christopher Koch (born December 14, 1974) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He was born in Rockville Centre, New York and went to West Babylon High School.
He entered the majors with the Toronto Blue Jays and last pitc ...
in 1996,
Vernon Wells
Vernon Michael Wells III (born December 8, 1978) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the New York Yankees.
Wells ...
,
Michael Young, and
Orlando Hudson
Orlando Thill Hudson (born December 12, 1977) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball from 2002–2012 with the Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, ...
in 1997,
Felipe López in 1998, and
Alex Ríos in 1999. A number of these prospects, most notably Michael Young, ended up being traded away before they fully developed. During his tenure, Toronto finished no better than 3rd in the
AL East
The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...
division, with a record of 541–575 over that span. After being replaced by
J. P. Ricciardi, in 2001, he became a baseball analyst for
TSN before he was appointed assistant general manager of the
Milwaukee Brewers in 2003.
David Stearns
David Stearns (born February 18, 1985) is an American baseball executive who most recently served as the president of baseball operations for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Stearns currently holds an advisory role with th ...
, who was hired as the Brewers' general manager after the 2015 season, reassigned Ash within the organization.
With Brewers owner
Mark Attanasio
Mark L. Attanasio (born September 29, 1957) is an American businessman from The Bronx who is the principal owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. In September 2004, he reached a deal, on behalf of an investment group, to purchase the Brewers from the fam ...
and pitcher
Ben Sheets
Ben Michael Sheets (born July 18, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball.
Sheets is a four-time MLB All-Star (2001, 2004, 2 ...
, Ash is an investor in the
Milwaukee Admirals
The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...
minor league hockey team.
References
External links
Gordon Ashat
Baseball America
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ash, Gord
1951 births
Living people
Canadian sports businesspeople
Canadian people of Scottish descent
Major League Baseball farm directors
Major League Baseball general managers
Milwaukee Brewers executives
Businesspeople from Toronto
Toronto Blue Jays executives
York University alumni
Canadian sports executives and administrators
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees