Getting to Know Mo
DOWNTOWN — When Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was asked about the qualities he saw in John Mozeliak that made him a good general manager candidate, La Russa looked over at the nattily dressed exec, smirked and said:
“Wears nice ties.”
That may be the case — and, with Mozeliak, the man most of us know as “Mo”, haberdashery is a calling card — but the Cardinals new general manager is far more than a suit. He was Walt Jocketty’s top lieutenant for the last five seasons and has been with the Cardinals since the fall of 1995. Including his climb from the lower levels of the Colorado Rockies organization, that is all bio info.
Here’s some other tidbits and links about the man at the helm of the Cardinals, the “Mo” we’ve come to know:
– Is a native of Boulder, Colo., and a graduate of the University of Colorado.
– An anecdote in ESPN senior writer Jerry Crasnick’s article from earlier this season that describes Mozeliak’s role in scouting and acquiring Albert Pujols:
But some scouts considered him too chunky and “heavy legged,” and there were rumblings that he might be older than advertised. He played at Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City, and St. Louis scouting director John Mozeliak, at the urging of scouts Mike Roberts and Dave Karaff, saw him at a college tournament in Wichita and thought he was worth a shot.
The Cards signed Pujols for a reported $60,000 and sent him to the instructional league in Jupiter, Fla. In his first at-bat, Pujols hit a ground ball up the middle. The next time up, he launched a shot off the roof of a building beyond the left field fence.
Farm director Mike Jorgensen nudged Mozeliak in the ribs and asked him, “What do we have here?” As it turns out, only the most prolific hitter of his generation.
– Some agents have come to prefer dealing with Mozeliak. A season or so ago, an agent attempted to get in touch with the Cardinals several times before breaking protocol and calling Mozeliak directly. Within a day or two, his client had signed with the Cardinals. That player had a role in a league championship team.
– KSDK/Channel 5 has an interview with Mozeliak that is available at iTunes.
– Is actually … John Mozeliak Jr.
– A lengthy interview with Mozeliak conducted back in 2004 by Brian Walton over at The Birdhouse, by way of the StlToday.com Cardinals forum. And keep in mind that there has been subsequent coverage that discussed the constraints the Cardinals had on them in 2004 (no cross-checkers, etc.).
– Went to Fairview High in Boulder, where he was a standout baseball player and later a coach before latching on with the expansion Rockies for their first season.
– From the State College, Pa., paper about how Pittsburgh could follow the Cardinals example when establishing and improving its minor-league team there and its minor-league system overall:
The St. Louis Cardinals, the Spikes’ former parent club, demanded players to make community appearances, wear collar shirts and work longer than eight-hour days. The Cardinals spent last year molding players for runs at National League Central titles.
They sent an armada of executives from St. Louis to State College to ensure young professionals adopt the “Cardinal Way.” Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty and assistant general manager John Mozeliak spent a series with the team.
– Counts Jerry Walker among his mentors, and when I spoke with Bob Gebhard a few weeks ago, Gebhard said: “Mo is ready for that job. He’s had a good teacher (in Jocketty) and he’ll do well.”
– Has served in the following roles with the Cardinals: an assistant in scouting operations; assistant scouting director; scouting director; Director of Baseball Operations; director of the draft; before the 2005 season he was shifted from a focus on amateur scouting to professional scouting; continuing work with player development. I found articles that described him as both a “Moneyball”-type executive — in one ranking of prospects that described his role in development — and as a scouting-oriented “baseball man”.
Headed into Busch Stadium for the press conference. Will revisit if I come across or remember additional anecdotes or bio bits.
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
Why the mystery on this anecdote? I’m gonna guess Spezio? Maybe Jeff Weaver?
- Some agents have come to prefer dealing with Mozeliak. A season or so ago, an agent attempted to get in touch with the Cardinals several times before breaking protocol and calling Mozeliak directly. Within a day or two, his client had signed with the Cardinals. That player had a role in a league championship team.