Jim is Vice President/General Manager of the Chicago Cubs. Former Cubs President/CEO Andy MacPhail promoted Hendry to General Manager on July 5, 2002. Hendry has been with the Cubs since 1995. In 1995, the Cubs hired Hendry as the director of player development. His job included running minor league operations and scouting. Before his promotion to GM in 2002, he was named an Assistant General Manager/Player Personnel Director in 2001.
Hendry’s tenure as Cubs General Manager has been one with mixed results. In 2003, Hendry hired Dusty Baker, former San Francisco Giants manager, and one of the best managers on the market. Under Baker, the Cubs made their first playoff appearance in the Hendry era, but in the next three years they had some of the worst records in the National League.
In the 2006 offseason, Hendry went on a spending spree starting when Hendry hired fiery veteran manager Lou Piniella. He also went out a signed Alfonzo Soriano to an eight year, $136 million contract to play outfield for the Cubs. Then after third baseman Aramis Ramirez opted out of his contract and filed for free agency, Hendry offered him a new five year, $73 million dollar contract. Under the first two years under Lou, the Cubs made the playoff in 2007 and 2008. It once again looked like Hendry’s moves paid off. However, the Cubs struggled in the playoffs and lost in the first rounds each year.
In 2009, 2010, and so far in 2011, the Cubs teams have been major disappointments. Lou Piniella resigned in 2010, and the Cubs have a lot of veterans not playing well. A lot people around baseball feel that Soriano is not longer fit for the outfield and Aramis is no longer the superstar he used to be. With all that being said, I think Jim Hendry is on a short leash and we will see if he is back with the Cubs in 2012.
For more on Hendry, check out the Cubdom Blog
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