After failing to land Jerry DiPoto or Tony LaCava, the Baltimore Orioles are reportedly poised to confirm the appointment of Dan Duquette as their new General Manager. Duquette (above, right), whose 7-year tenure in Boston included the acquisitions of Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez (along with the alienation of Mo Vaughn and Roger Clemens), had a somewhat stiff relationship with the media (if not his players), and with that in mind, The Globe’s John Koch gave the exec a chance to express himself in this July, 1998 interview.
You take a lot of hits from the press. How do you deal with it?
There was a great advantage in Montreal [where Duquette managed the Expos before coming to Boston, in 1994]. It was a hockey town, and three-quarters of the press was in French. In Boston, the focal point is the baseball team. News [writers] throughout New England use the Red Sox as a forum to promote their agendas.Writers have called you humorless, mechanical – how do you react? I detect no emotion as we talk about this.
I have a sense of humor. Dan Duquette is about the team, period. In that position, you need to make objective decisions that people aren’t going to agree with.What are you reading now?
The Celestine Prophecy. It’s about spirituality and how the coincidences in your life are related to the plan of your life.Was there a divine plan for you to be the Red Sox GM?
I believe that this was what I was destined to do, yeah.Aren’t you at some risk of burnout?
Baseball, from a mental perspective, is a grind, a war. That’s the draining challenge, day in and day out. But the great thing about it is that every day you get up and go to work in this town, you go to Fenway Park. That’s like recharging your batteries. Where else would you want to go to start your day