Both before and after his time as the general manager who helped the Bulls win six championships in the 1990s, Jerry Krause worked in baseball as a scout.
He worked for seven different teams dating back to the 1970s and all the way up to into the 2010s: the White Sox, the Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks.
While “The Last Dance” is exploring what kind of general manager he was in the NBA, what kind of scout was Krause in Major League Baseball?
“He was a hard worker and had great knowledge on how to break down a player from a scouting perspective,” former Mets general manager Omar Minaya told the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff. “He also had a real eye for seeking out those diamond-in-the-rough players.
“I always learned a lot from our conversations because we even talked about the similarities between great players in baseball and basketball, with the athleticism required for both sports. He loved talking scouting and had a great knack for it.”
During his first stint with the White Sox, Krause played a role in the acquisition of several key players, including Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen, who went on to construct and lead the 2005 World Series team.
After winning six titles with the Bulls, Krause returned to baseball, first with the Yankees and later with Minaya’s Mets.
NBA
“Jerry was recommended to me by staff members at the time,” Minaya told Davidoff. “I hired him because both his baseball and basketball background were very intriguing. He had been around great players in both sports with a winning pedigree as an executive, so that was a unique perspective. His role was mainly in pro scouting over amateur.
“I have very fond memories of our relationship. I felt fortunate to be able to hire him.”
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