Buster Posey was a splash hire by the San Francisco Giants a month ago as president of baseball operations, his pedigree including three World Series championships with the franchise and a likely Hall of Fame induction on the horizon.
First item on his to-do list was to bring on a general manager. That would not be a splashy hire. Posey, who has zero front-office experience, needed someone well-versed in player evaluation, a grinder with a history of deep-dive scouting.
He didn’t look far, tabbing Giants pro scouting director Zack Minasian as the new GM, the team announced Friday. The name is familiar because Zack’s brother Perry Minasian has been the Angels GM since the 2021 season.
The Minasians are the first brothers to be general managers at the same time in MLB history.
Oh, and the latest one’s middle name is Tommy to honor his godfather, Tommy Lasorda.
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Tight family, no doubt, but don’t expect Zack to get much assistance from Perry, his older brother of four years.
“People always say, ‘Oh, look at those loving brothers all trying to help out each other,’ ” Perry told USA Today. “It’s the furthest thing from the truth. We want to beat each other’s asses as much as possible.
“We’re not trying to hurt each other, but we’re sure the hell not helping each other, either.”
As kids, Zack would get annoyed when he believed Perry was cheating during “Madden NFL” video game marathons. OK, beyond annoyed.
“We would sometimes come to blows,” Zack said. “I’m not even joking. Sometimes, we would literally be fighting.’’
Perry doesn’t deny his brother’s recollections, although these days they generally behave like adults.
“At that point in time,” Perry said, “I was out of my mind. I would do anything to win. There would be fights all of the time. We would come to blows.”
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Legacy hires and unabashed nepotism are prevalent in baseball — in all professional sports, really, — but the Minasian connection has humble origins.
Zack and Perry’s father was a clubhouse manager for the Texas Rangers from 1989 to 2009. His four sons — Rudy is the oldest and Calvin wedged between Perry and Zack — all served as bat boys and clubhouse attendants, immersed in the day-to-day routines of big league players.
Three of them embarked on careers in baseball, although none played even in the minor leagues. Calvin is clubhouse director with the Atlanta Braves while Perry and Zack ascended through front offices, Perry with the Braves and Toronto Blue Jays before the Angels and Zack in a 14-year stint with the Milwaukee Brewers before moving to the Giants in 2019.
Zack is not a junior because his parents gave him the middle name Tommy. Why? Lasorda was a close friend of Zack’s maternal grandfather, and when he took his first managerial job in the Dodgers organization in 1966, Lasorda asked a teenage Zack — Perry and Zack’s father — to run the clubhouse at rookie league in Ogden, Utah.
The younger Zack was hired by Brewers GM Doug Melvin in 2005 to supervise minor league scouts, and by age 27, he became the youngest scouting director in the majors. With the Giants, Zack gained a greater appreciation for analytics working under GM Farhan Zaidi.
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Meanwhile in Anaheim, Perry signed a two-year contract extension in August despite the Angels struggling to their worst record in franchise history and fourth consecutive losing season.
Both brothers have their work cut out for them.
The Angels made the first trade of the offseason Thursday, acquiring slugger Jorge Soler for underachieving starting pitcher Griffin Canning. Yet they have daunting needs, including both starters and relievers on the mound, and not much money to spend.
“Over the last four years, Perry and his baseball operations staff have begun to lay the foundation for a bright future of Angels baseball,” owner Arte Moreno said in a statement. “We have been impressed by the steps Perry has taken to infuse our major league team with young and exciting talent while also revamping our player development process.”
The Giants finished fourth in the National League West at 80-84, with three playoff-hardened teams ahead of them in the Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks. Posey and Zack Minasian are new to their roles but familiar with the franchise. They should accelerate the adjustment period, which is desirable when the free-agent market is about to begin.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
