Brian R. Sabean
Senior Vice President and General Manager

Brian Sabean, whose distinguished baseball pedigree and shrewd player acquisitions have transformed the Giants into the National League's thirdwinningest team over the past 11 seasons, was named San Francisco's senior vice president and general manager Sept. 30, 1996. By stewarding the Giants to four post season berths during his 11 years at the helm, he has guided the club to half of its eight playoff appearances over its first 50 seasons in San Francisco.

Since Sabean assumed the GM reins, the Giants have won a National League pennant (2002), three NL West Division flags (1997, 2000 and 2003), been a Wild Card entry (2002) and forced a Wild Card tie-breaker game with Chicago in 1998, while posting an 960-820 mark during that 11-year span. Sabean's .539 winning percentage at the helm of San Francisco is the 11th highest among all general managers since 1950, while only San Diego's Kevin Towers (12 years) has a longer tenure as a GM with his current club in the game.

In his 16th year with the organization and 23rd season as a baseball front office executive, the 51-year-old Sabean was honored as Major League Baseball's Executive of the Year by both The Sporting News and Baseball America in 2003. In his first year as the Giants' GM, the Concord, NH native finished second in The Sporting News' 1997 Executive of the Year balloting. He seized national headlines for his bold player moves that season, engineering some of baseball's most successful blockbuster trades, which catapulted San Francisco to its first divisional championship in eight years.

During his 11-year tenure as GM, Sabean has acquired some of the game's best players via trades. They have included: All-Stars Jeff Kent, Jason Schmidt, Robb Nen, Kenny Lofton, Andres Galarraga, Ellis Burks, Randy Winn, Joe Carter, Roberto Hernandez, Wilson Alvarez and Jose Mesa. The Giants GM has been known to bring reinforcements during the July 31 trading deadline, acquiring the likes of Schmidt, Burks, Hernandez, Alvarez and Winn during his tenure.

Sabean has overseen an overhaul of the baseball operations department this winter, with the arrivals of Ron Schueler, John Barr and Ed Creech as well as the promotion of Fred Stanley to oversee the farm system.

The Giants architect is the envy of many general managers in the game with a rotation that boasts young stars Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito and steady left-hander Noah Lowry. Sabean also brought future Hall of Famer Omar Vizquel to San Francisco in 2005, while adding two-time Gold Glove catcher Bengie Molina in 2007 and Gold Glove outfielder Aaron Rowand this winter.

Before his promotion to GM in 1996, Sabean served one season as the club's senior vice president, player personnel in 1995 and enjoyed a three-year stint as assistant to the general manager and vice president of scouting/player personnel. Prior to joining the Giants, Sabean played a vital role in developing the Yankees' farm system into one of baseball's finest. During his eight-year tenure with the Yankees, he held several positions of increasing responsibility, including director of scouting from 1986-90 and vice president of player development/scouting from 1990-92.

Sabean, who graduated from Concord (NH) High School in 1974 and Eckerd College (St. Petersburg, FL) in 1978, served as an assistant baseball coach at St. Leo (FL) College in 1979 and the University of Tampa from 1980-82. He was then promoted to head coach at Tampa in 1983, holding that post for two years, compiling a 61-36 record and making the school's first-ever appearance in an NCAA regional tournament in 1984. Sabean and his wife, Amanda, live in San Francisco. He has four sons, Colin, Sean, Brendan and Darren.


close window        print window