Hiring folks of colour has been a vexing drawback for M.L.B., which has pipeline packages to encourage range however can not demand particular hires by its groups. Brown mentioned he all the time sensed a sincerity from Selig and his successor, Rob Manfred, who reassured Brown after his spectacular, however unsuccessful, interview with Seattle and congratulated him after his hiring in Houston.
“To have the ability to hug Manfred and say, ‘Hey, you have been proper,’ it was unbelievable,” Brown mentioned. “So that you don’t take it evenly as a result of you already know there have been folks all through your profession who have been pulling for you, and stored reminding you that, ‘Hey, there’s a chance coming.’ After which if you get the chance, it’s like: ‘OK, it’s time to roll. It’s time to make use of all the pieces that I’ve discovered and apply it.’”
Brown’s ultimate flourish in Atlanta was an proprietor’s dream: Not solely did he draft middle fielder Michael Harris II and starter Spencer Strider, who completed first and second in Nationwide League voting for the Rookie of the 12 months Award final season, however each gamers signed long-term contract extensions.
The talent to search out expertise and preserve it would decide Brown’s legacy with the Astros. He has already spearheaded a long-term deal for starter Cristian Javier (5 years, $64 million), and mentioned he plans to keep up a correspondence with Scott Boras, the agent for the cornerstone infielders Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman. These gamers will be free brokers after 2024, with outfielder Kyle Tucker and starter Framber Valdez eligible the next yr.
Participant growth has been vital for the Astros, who’ve misplaced stars to free company — George Springer, Carlos Correa, Gerrit Cole — however changed them with high-impact prospects. However as a part of their punishment for the sign-stealing scandal, the Astros have been stripped of their high two draft picks in 2020 and 2021.
If the staff withers within the coming years, the lack of these gamers — whoever they may have been — might be an necessary motive. In that case, Brown understands, the blame will fall to him. His mandate, his path to a contented retirement, is to ensure that by no means occurs.
“Individuals are not going to do the digging and the homework and say, ‘Properly, it wasn’t him, there was this hole,’” Brown mentioned. “They’re simply going to say: ‘Oh, you had a very good staff, after which the staff fell down. What occurred?’ So I’ve to fill that hole however with out grievance — which I’m fantastic with. I’ll take the problem.”