J. P. Ricciardi

John Paul (J. P.) Ricciardi (born September 26, 1959 in Worcester, Massachusetts) is the current Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Early career

J.P. Ricciardi went to and played baseball for St. Peter's/St. Peter-Marian High School in Worcester, MA.Riccardi played for the Saint Leo University Lions from 1979 through 1980, as well.

Ricciardi played baseball for two years in the New York Mets minor league system as an infielder. He played for the Mets A-class league affiliates in Little Falls in 1980 and Shelby in 1981, finishing his playing career with a batting average below .200. [cite web|title=The Baseball Cube J.P. Ricciardi|url=http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/R/John-Ricciardi.shtml|accessdate-2008-08-20] After that, Ricciardi became a coach in the New York Yankees farm system in the early 1980s before joining the Oakland Athletics organization in 1986 as a minor league instructor and a scout. By the early 1990s he had risen to the ranks of East Coast Scouting Supervisor and later National Crosschecker. Ricciardi made his break into the front office in 1996, when he became special assistant to Athletics general manager Sandy Alderson. Under new general manager Billy Beane, Ricciardi's former teammate with the Little Falls Mets, [cite web|title=The Baseball Cube Little Falls Mets|url=http://www.thebaseballcube.com/statistics/1980/10278.shtml|accessdate=2008-08-20] who was hired in 1997, Ricciardi's role became Director of Player Personnel.

Impressed by the success Ricciardi and Beane were having with the low-budget Athletics, the Toronto Blue Jays, stuck with similar budgetary constraints, sought Ricciardi's services after firing then-general manager Gord Ash. On November 14, 2001, Ricciardi was hired as general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Record as general manager

One of Ricciardi's first deals was to send hard-throwing reliever Billy Koch to the Athletics for upcoming third baseman Eric Hinske and pitcher Justin Miller. Over the next few years Ricciardi would develop a reputation for coziness with his old team, making deals for starting pitcher Cory Lidle in November 2002 and fellow starting pitcher Ted Lilly in November 2003. After a surprising 2003 campaign which saw the emergence of Roy Halladay and Vernon Wells, the team suffered its worst season since 1980 in 2004, mainly due to injuries to key players such as Wells and star slugger Carlos Delgado. Delgado became a free agent in the off-season, and the Blue Jays did not seriously pursue re-signing him; the Florida Marlins eventually inked him to a contract. During the 2004 season, Ricciardi hired former Shelby teammate John Gibbons to be the Blue Jays manager. Gibbons managed the Blue Jays until being fired on June 20, 2008.

Ricciardi's arrival in Toronto was greeted with great optimism and enthusiasm after the team had suffered through several disappointing seasons. The enthusiasm has steadily waned as the team has not been able to make it to the postseason. However, attendance has increased every season since 2002 and based on preseason ticket sales is poised to do so again in 2008.

Ricciardi signed a five-year contract with Toronto after the 2002 season. His contract was extended to 2010 after the 2005 season.

Ricciardi was given more freedom to move after Blue Jays owner Ted Rogers expanded the team's payroll to $210 million over three years prior to the 2005 season. After the season (in which the Blue Jays posted an 80-82 record), Ricciardi began improving Toronto's pitching, signing free agent starter A.J. Burnett and closer B.J. Ryan. He also secured two big bats in first baseman Lyle Overbay and slugging third baseman Troy Glaus via the trading block, and signed Gold Glove-winning catcher Bengie Molina as well. The additions paid significant dividends for the team in 2006, as the Blue Jays finished second in the tough American League East with an 87-75 record. It was the first time Toronto had finished above third in the division since 1993.

Seeking to upgrade the everyday lineup as well, Ricciardi signed a two-year contract with experienced slugger and designated hitter Frank Thomas. Due to his slow start in 2008, in which he batted just .167 with three home runs in his first 60 at-bats, Thomas was released in April of that year. Ricciardi also signed veteran shortstop Royce Clayton as a "stopgap" measure to shore up the middle infield for the 2007 season.

During spring training of 2007, B.J. Ryan was suffering from an injury that Ricciardi initially reported to be a result of a bad back. It was later revealed that it was not a back injury that he was suffering from at all, but rather a more severe elbow injury which subsequently required season ending Tommy John surgery. When asked why he was not more upfront about Ryan's injury situation, Ricciardi responded by saying, “They're not lies if we know the truth.” [ [http://www2.sportsnet.ca/blogs/jim_lang/2007/05/10/damned_lies_and_jp/ Damned lies and J.P. - Jim Lang - Sportsnet.ca ] ] This led many fans and media members to question Ricciardi's trustworthiness for what was perceived as an act of deception.

In the middle of June 2008, with the Jays in last place in the American League East, J.P. appeared on local Toronto sports radio station the FAN 590, in which he fielded questions from fans. One fan voiced his opinion that the Jays should actively seek to acquire Cincinnati Reds outfielder Adam Dunn, to which J.P. responded with very negative personal comments about Adam's passion for the game of baseball. On June 24, 2008 Ricciardi told Toronto Media that he received a personal phone call from Dunn and personally apologized for the adlib comments comments, a conversation Dunn vehemently refuted in an interview with MLB.com. [ [http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080624&content_id=2994063&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb Dunn denies phone call with Ricciardi | MLB.com: News ] ]

Despite the lack of hitting on his 2008 ball club, Ricciardi has assemble the best pitching staff in Major League Baseball, with astute bullpen pick-ups such as Scott Downs, Brian Tallet, Jesse Carlson and Shawn Camp. Through September 14th, the team has the best ERA in baseball at 3.54 and the bullpen ERA of 2.99. [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/aggregate?statType=pitching&seasonType=2&group=9&type=exp1&sort=&split=0&season=2008]

Personal life

Ricciardi is married and lives with his family in the Worcester area. He has two sons, Mariano and Dante. He also has a brother Steve Ricciardi and sister Mary Sivo.

ee also

*sabermetrics

References

External links

* [http://danjulien.atspace.com/ricciardi.htm The Ricciardi Project - Evaluation of trades]