Million Essay, Research Paper

Leading the League

Paul Beeston is the CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays. His associates think that, like Tom Hanks in the movie Big, he walks a fine line between crazy kid and a top- notch executive. Beesron, who is a legendary for his commitment to the organization, started as the team??s first full-time accountant and rose through the ranks to become president in 1989. He arrives at work between 7 and 7:30 a.m. each day, and hasn??t taken a vacation in four years. With the team??s 1992 and 1993 World Series victories and its profitable condition, Beeston has much of which to be proud.

Beeston works closely with the executive vice- president. Beeston handles the administration and balances the books, while the vice- president monitors the team??s on- the- field performance. Beeston is very much into signing high- profile players to big- time deals. He has a reputation as a tough but fair negotiator. He responds to fan outrage at high player salaries by saying that baseball players need a good environment to work in. The Blue Jays?? salary budget is over $40 million.

Beeston is continually under pressure to perform, i.e., to win. This is not a simple matter, since the club has 25 often-temperamental ballplayers. It is necessary continually to find new players through the scouting system and to keep those players coming through the system.