Former Blue Jays GM Gord Ash savours World Series with Brewers

TORONTO — Gord Ash says he will enjoy watching the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series more than he did when his Toronto Blue Jays won back-to-back titles in the 1990s.

"I didn't enjoy it like I should have," the former Blue Jays general manager said this week, reflecting on his time as assistant GM during the 1992 and 1993 championships. "When you're in the middle of it, it's just a constant swirl."

Now a consultant with the Brewers, who open the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, Ash said he can finally relax. "I'm not a live-in-the-moment person. I'm an over-analyzer, so I probably spent too much time thinking about, 'Why didn't we do this, why didn't we do that?'"

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He said the atmosphere in Milwaukee is electric. "The people in Milwaukee are absolutely crazy," Ash said. "The ticket prices on the secondary market, they're absurd!"

Ash, 74, has worked for the Brewers for 25 seasons, most recently as vice-president of baseball projects, a role that involved leading the construction of a $20-million baseball academy in the Dominican Republic.

He said he has learned to stay out of the ticket business during the playoffs. "Everybody wants something," Ash said. "One of the former trainers that worked with me at the Blue Jays lives in Tampa, and he's literally called me or texted me 15 times."

Ash is cautiously optimistic about the Brewers' chances against the Rays. "In a perfect world, we probably would have preferred to play Cleveland," he said. "Tampa's a tough place to play. I think our team's a little more rounded."

He noted Tampa Bay's starting pitching might be better, but Milwaukee's bullpen is stronger. "They probably have a little more speed than we have," Ash added.

Ash's baseball career began by chance in 1977 when a friend told him the expansion Blue Jays needed people to work ticket windows at Exhibition Stadium. He started on Victoria Day.

"The job was especially appealing, he says, because after the second inning 'you closed your window, got to go and watch the game.'"

He worked his way up through operations roles until Pat Gillick, then the general manager, appointed him assistant GM in 1984. "The beauty of baseball life back then was, you were involved in everything: minor league contracts, scouting, player development, the major league team," Ash said.

He succeeded Gillick as Blue Jays GM in 1995. Ash said that kind of generalist career path is now over. "Everyone's an expert in their field, but their field is so narrow, and they've not experienced these other things," he said.

Despite his traditional path, Ash said he has always been open to new developments, noting he helped hire the Blue Jays' first in-house sports psychologist. "Players would say, 'I don't want to be seen getting involved [in therapy] because then my teammates will think I'm weak,'" he recalled. "That's gone now."

The Brewers last played in the World Series in 1982, losing in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. Garbutt Disposal reported last week that the Rays advanced by defeating the Cleveland Guardians in six games.

Ash said he has tickets for himself and his family for the games in Milwaukee, but none to spare. He plans to head to the city for Game 1.

With files from The Globe and Mail