Doug Melvin

Douglas Robert Melvin

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6'1". Weight 175 lb.

• Born August 8, 1952 in Chatham, ON Canada

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Doug Melvin pitched in the minor leagues for six seasons, going 29-19 with a 3.43 ERA. He spent 1972 and 1973 in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system, missed the 1974 season due to injury, and then played in the New York Yankees organization from 1975 to 1978.

Melvin worked with the New York Yankees as a Baseball Operations Assistant from 1983 to 1984 and as the Yankees Director of Scouting in 1985. He moved to the Baltimore Orioles as the Special Assistant to former General Manager Roland Hemond in 1987 before being named the Orioles Assistant GM and Director of Player Personnel, a position which he held from 1988 to 1993.

Melvin was then GM of the Texas Rangers from 1994 to 2001. His time in Texas coincided with the team's first ventures in the postseason, starting with a division title in 1996. However they failed to advance beyond the Division Series all three years they were in the postseason, being beaten by the Yankees each time. After his time in Texas, he worked as a consultant in the Boston Red Sox Minor League Operations department before being hired by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2002.

Melvin held the titles of President of Baseball Operations and General Manager with the Brewers for 13 seasons. In 2008, the team broke a 26-year postseason drought when they became the National League wild card. That season, he made a couple of bold decisions, first trading for ace CC Sabathia, who came over from the Cleveland Indians and almost carried the team on his back down the stretch, and then firing longtime manager Ned Yost with only a couple of weeks left to go in the season and replacing him with coach Dale Sveum, who got the team into the postseason by the slimmest of margins. His time in charge coincided with the development of Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun into superstars. The two were instrumental in leading the Brewers to their best season in years in 2011, when they won the NL Central title for the first time and defeated the Arizxona Diamondbacks in the NLDS before falling in six games to the St. Louis Cardinals, eventual World Series champions, in the 2011 NLCS. After a few more competitive seasons, the Brewers hit a slump early in 2015, which led to the firing of manager Ron Roenicke ans his replacement by Craig Counsell. Melvin then cleaned house at the trading deadline, sending away veterans Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Gomez, Mike Fiers and Gerardo Parra in return for prospects, A couple of weeks later, on August 11th, he announced that he was stepping down, although he remained in place while owner Mark Attanasio conducted a search for a replacement. Melvin indicated that he thought that his replacement should be from a younger generation and well-versed in statistical analysis, as the requirements of the job had changed. He was slated to the remain with the organization after that in an advisory capacity. On September 21st, the Brewers hired 30-year-old David Stearns, until then the assistant GM of the Houston Astros, as his replacement.

He was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.

Preceded by Tom Grieve

Texas Rangers General Manager 1994-2001

Succeeded by John Hart

Preceded by Dean Taylor

Milwaukee Brewers General Manager 2003-2015

Succeeded by David Stearns

Related Sites

• Doug Melvin's Baseball America Executive Database