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Mark Shapiro (sports executive)

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For the media and soccer executive, see Mark Shapiro (media executive).

Mark Shapiro
Born (1967-04-03) April 3, 1967 (age 57)
Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma materPrinceton University (1989)
Occupation(s)Toronto Blue Jays team president and CEO
FatherRonald M. Shapiro
Awards

Mark Shapiro (/ʃəˈpaɪroʊ/; born April 3, 1967) is an American professional baseball executive, currently working as the president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He worked with the Cleveland Indians from 1991 to 2015, beginning in player development and ending as team president.

Early and personal life

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Shapiro was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 3, 1967.[1] He is the son of Ronald M. Shapiro, an attorney and sports agent in Baltimore, and the brother-in-law of former Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini. He graduated from the Gilman School in 1985, after playing first base for the baseball team, and Princeton University in 1989 with a degree in history, after playing center and offensive tackle for the Princeton Tigers football team.[2][3]

Shapiro has one son, Caden,[4] and one daughter, Sierra.[5] They lived in Bentleyville, Ohio while Shapiro worked for the Indians.[6]

Shapiro was played by actor Reed Diamond in the 2011 film Moneyball.[7] Shapiro has stated the novel that made the largest impact on him growing up was Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead,[8] and that Howard Roark (the novel’s protagonist) is his favourite character in fiction.[9]

Baseball career

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Shapiro joined the Cleveland Indians organization in 1991, when he was recommended by former Tribe GM Hank Peters. He had worked his way up from player development director to Assistant General Manager, and in 2001 became general manager.[10]

Shapiro was named Executive of the Year by the Sporting News in 2005 and 2007,[11] following 90+ wins seasons by the Indians, including an American League Central Division Championship in 2007.[citation needed] At the end of the 2010 season, he became the Cleveland Indians team president, with Chris Antonetti succeeding Shapiro as general manager.[12][13]

On August 31, 2015, The Toronto Blue Jays announced that Shapiro would become their new president and chief executive officer (CEO) at the end of the 2015 season, succeeding Paul Beeston.[14][15] Shapiro did not formally begin working in the new role until October 31, 2015, the same day that Beeston retired.[16][17] In a press conference on November 2, Shapiro named Tony LaCava the interim general manager, to replace Alex Anthopoulos.[18] Subsequently, on December 3, 2015, Ross Atkins was named as the team's sixth general manager.[19]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ Jewish Telegraph Agency: "Cubs vs. Indians: Which team is more Jewish?" By Ben Sales and Marcy Oster October 26, 2016
  2. ^ "Don't Hate Mark Shapiro"
  3. ^ "Account Management - Login/Register" (PDF). Major League Baseball. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  4. ^ "Cleveland Indians Report". cir.blogspot.com. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  5. ^ Meisel, Zack (October 4, 2015). "Cleveland Indians honor outgoing president Mark Shapiro, who catches ceremonial first pitches". cleveland.com. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  6. ^ "Urban Land Institute". Archived from the original on March 4, 2006. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  7. ^ Bastain, Jordan. "Shapiro shares his thoughts on 'Moneyball'". MLB.com. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  8. ^ Bowden, Jim. "Q&A: Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro on the postponed season, pitching and more". The Athletic. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  9. ^ "Toronto Blue Jays' CEO Mark Shapiro discusses Moneyball, Ayn Rand and hotdogs". The Globe and Mail. June 23, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  10. ^ "Indians executive Mark Shapiro to become Blue Jays president: reports". theglobeandmail.com. August 30, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  11. ^ "Executive of the Year Award by The Sporting News". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  12. ^ Castrovince, Anthony (February 18, 2010). "Shapiro, Antonetti to step up after 2010". MLB.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
  13. ^ "Antonetti to GM among Indians' promotions". Major League Baseball. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  14. ^ MacLeod, Robert (August 31, 2015). "Blue Jays name Mark Shapiro as next president and CEO". theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  15. ^ Chisholm, Gregor (August 31, 2015). "Shapiro to become Blue Jays president, CEO". MLB.com. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  16. ^ Simmons, Steve (October 31, 2015). "Simmons Says: With Anthopoulos gone, Shapiro's takeover of Blue Jays complete". torontosun.com. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  17. ^ Rumley, Jonathan (November 1, 2015). "Mark Shapiro takes over as Blue Jays president/CEO and CEO". cbc.ca. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  18. ^ Nicholson-Smith, Ben (November 2, 2015). "Blue Jays name Tony LaCava interim general manager". Sportsnet. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  19. ^ Davidi, Shi (December 3, 2015). "Blue Jays to name Ross Atkins as team's new general manager". Sportsnet. Rogers Digital Media. Retrieved December 3, 2015.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mark Shapiro (sports executive).
Sporting positions
Preceded by Cleveland Indians General Manager
November 1, 2001 – October 3, 2010 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Toronto Blue Jays President and CEO
2015–present 		Succeeded by
incumbent
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