Adding one

There should be one more Appleton Baseball alumni included in your playoff posts.

Bill Smith is the General Manager of the Minnesota Twins. He didn't play in Appleton, but read on to find out why we can claim him as one of ours.

Here is the start of a Gary Shriver story from the July 12, 1987 Appleton Post-Crescent.

Smith pays dues in minors

Just as many players have to pay their dues with years in the minor leagues in order to earn a shot at the major, a number of baseball's executives take the same route to the big time.

Bill Smith, who was general manager of the Appleton Foxes between 1983-85, is now in his second year as assistant director of minor leagues and scouting with the Minnesota Twins.

The job forces Smith to wear many hats. He divides his time between the business end of the baseball operation, helping scout new talent for the Twins and then following that talent through the the minor league system. Smith was in Appleton scouting during the Foxes-Wausau series this past week.

"This is my initial venture in scouting players in the minor leagues," said Smith. "Terry Ryan (Twins' director of scouting) said the only way to learn how to scout is to do it. I'm looking at four clubs in the (Midwest) League, Kenosha, (the Twins' affiliate), Wausau, Appleton, and Beloit. I have to see each team six times, preferably each team six days in a row. I have already seen Kenosha six games, then I went up to Wausau and followed them to Appleton. I'll finish up by following the Foxes to Beloit."

And now he's the GM of the AL Central Champs and getting ready to take on the Yankees. Good luck, Mr. Smith.

There a few more articles in the just discovered files, including a Washington Post story about a stop the author made in Appleton back when Smith was GM of the Foxes. It appears to be part two of a three part baseball road trip series by the author. I'll save that one for later this month.