Today we say bienvenidos to someone who has actually sat in the big chair, making the decisions that impact a professional sports organization and its fan base, Ned Colletti. Before talking about some of the keys that go into his day-to-day decisions, Ned shares about his transition from sportswriting to working for the Cubs (1:44), as well as his early influences growing up in Chicago (4:34). Ned broke down what went into his projections for player performance (10:01) and his use of analytics (15:35). Since he now works for the NHL's San Jose Sharks, he talks about some traits that scouts look for across multiple sports (24:45). He also gets into what goes into making a trade happen (26:51). His brother Doug has worked for the Chicago Bears' broadcast crew since 1986, keeping Ned connected to the NFL (31:06). He closes out with his transition to the broadcast side himself (32:58).
Again, Ned, gracias for joining our podcast to share some of what it takes to be a successful GM in pro sports. You can find Ned on Twitter at @realnedcolletti and his book is a great read: The Big Chair: Inside the Smooth Hops and Bad Bounces from Inside the World of the Acclaimed Los Angeles Dodgers GM. Find it on Amazon, and you won't be able to put it down.
