Chicago Blackhawks associate general manager Jeff Greenberg, the team’s analytics chief, is leaving to be the new Detroit Tigers general manager.
It represents a return to baseball for Greenberg, who spent 11 years with the Cubs and rose to assistant general manager .
The Hawks wanted to shake up their analytics department and bring in some innovations from the baseball world, who in their view was miles ahead of hockey in the data game.
But Greenberg leaves the Hawks Thursday after about a year and a half.
“I know the club is on the right path to success with the leadership they have in place and the vision they are building for the future,” Greenberg said in a statement.
Greenberg will report to Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris, according to the Tigers website.
“I’m thrilled to add an executive of Jeff’s quality to our baseball operations leadership team,” Harris said through the team site. “Throughout this search, it was important for me to find someone who can fit seamlessly into the culture we’re building here. I also wanted to bring in someone with a fresh perspective and new ideas that could challenge us on a daily basis and make us all better as we strive towards our goal of bringing postseason baseball back to Detroit.”
The Hawks have been working to build a comprehensive database that gathers and disseminates information on players and games that would be used throughout all levels of their organization, ideally through the tough of a finger on a laptop or phone. Greenberg was supposed to continue leading that.
Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson was asked this week about the team’s progress in that department.
“They’re working,” Davidson said. “They’re dynamite. Lots of great work being done there. Lots of useful information that we’re getting and integrating into the decision making processes.
“(It’s) an ever-evolving thing that we’re trying to perfect and get better at and integrating it throughout the department. Really exciting.”
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