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.
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
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]
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
Two-time Sporting News Executive of the Year (2005, 2007)
Note: Those listed here hold the title of President for their team, not be be confused with President of Baseball Operations or similar. Not all MLB teams have a person designated as President.
