Paul Beeston will be the Blue Jays' president and CEO through 2015 after signing a contract extension with the club, according to Edward Rogers, who announced it via a media release on Bob McCown's Prime Time Sports show on Rogers Communications' subsidiary Rogers Media's Rogers Sportsnet 590 the Fan. Rogers.
Rogers employee Alex Seixeiro won the race to Twitter to announce the news:
Edward Rogers confirming that Paul Beeston has signed an extension to remain with the Bluejays in 2015. Beeston will retire after the season
— Alex Seixeiro (@alexfan590) January 26, 2015Rogers employee Barry Davis was seconds behind, although he was a little off with the contract length:
It's now official. Paul Beeston has agreed on a 1 yr contract extension and will remain president and CEO of the #BlueJays thru 2025
— Barry Davis (@SNBarryDavis) January 26, 2015So the bungled attempt at replacing Beeston is over, at least for now. Beeston, the franchise's first employee, will get a full season before his retirement and slowly ride off into the sunset. I wonder what gifts each team will get him during his retirement tour?
This certainly seems to signal that there will be at least a temporary moratorium on the rumours about the Blue Jays trying to poach Dan Duquette from the Orioles, so for now, the Blue Jays' two first-round picks from 2014 Jeff Hoffman and Max Pentecost seem to be safe from being the player to be named later in a trade with Baltimore.
The official release from Rogers includes a quote from Edward Rogers that blah blah blahs about Beeston's contributions to "Canada's team" and addresses the rumours about his search for the next top executive for the Jays (surprisingly), but he and Rogers promised to not publicly speak about the search. But I'm sure we'll hear plenty about it from our friends in the media.
Copy of Full Release from Rogers
PAUL BEESTON SIGNS EXTENSION WITH TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Will Retire at End of Team’s 2015 SeasonTORONTO (January 26, 2015) Rogers Communications announced today that Paul Beeston has signed a contract extension and will remain President and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays until the end of the team’s 2015 season, at which time he will retire.
"Paul is one of baseball’s greats, whose passion for – and commitment to – winning is unparalleled. He is a proud Canadian and we’re proud to have him lead Canada’s team for the upcoming season," said Edward Rogers, Chairman, Toronto Blue Jays. "We have been in discussions with Paul about his future with the team since his contract expired in October. There were many rumours flying about, but it would have been inappropriate to comment on such matters publicly. Make no mistake – we are elated to have Paul continue to lead the team for this season."
"I love this ball club and the fans. I wake up every day thinking about the game and bringing another championship north of the border. I’m excited for the season ahead – we’ve got a great group of guys who are fiercely competitive and hope to be playing ball in October," said Beeston.
Beeston, 69, was the first Toronto Blue Jays employee in 1976 and has been with the ball club for 31 years, winning two World Series titles with the team. He has served two terms as Toronto Blue Jays president (1989-1997 and 2008-present), and five years as president and COO of Major League Baseball. A native of Welland, Ont., Beeston is a member of the Order of Canada. He serves on the executive committee of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002.
Beeston’s successor will start when he retires. We will not be commenting on the succession process or timing.