As if Alex Anthopoulos turning down a five-year contract extension offer from the Blue Jays and stepping down as general manager a week after being in the ALCS wasn’t drama enough, now there’s this:
Minutes before beginning a conference call with the local Toronto media to explain his side of the decision Anthopoulos received word from The Sporting News that he won the Executive of the Year award as voted on by his peers.
Anthopoulos said all the right things during the conference call, tossing around compliments without pointing any fingers, but it seems clear that once he realized the scope of his role in the Blue Jays’ front office was changing with the arrival of new team president Mark Shapiro he no longer wanted to be the GM, long-term contract or not.
And now he’s a free agent, albeit one with a shiny new award.