Mr. Smith started in Appleton

Bill Smith, the General Manager of the Minnesota Twins, was in town this weekend.

He was the General Manager of the Appleton Foxes from 1983-1985. The once and future beat writer of the Timber Rattlers caught up with Mr. Smith and the result is:

Minnesota Twins general manager Bill Smith credits Appleton for launching his career

"It really was the best three years of my career," said Smith, 52. "Because everything I learned here, I've been able to take to Minnesota."

"Here" means serving as the general manager of the Appleton Foxes, the precursor to your Timber Rattlers and a hat he wore for the 1983, '84 and '85 seasons.

Back then, the Foxes were affiliated with the Chicago White Sox, and for those first two seasons, Smith was the only person drawing a full-time wage as an employee of Appleton Baseball Club, Inc.

Consider it takes a small army to keep the Rattlers on task today. And also consider the job description of a minor league GM doesn't mention anything about player development, player movement, scouting and rosters.

In the minors, it's all about building and maintaining a strong business model. In the majors, it's all about building and maintaining a World Series contender.

So how is it Smith credits those days clocking in at old Goodland Field for shaping him into a major league major exec?

"I came to Appleton because I didn't understand the whole minor league operation," Smith explained. "And it was the best decision I ever made in my career. I had people openly question it: 'Why are you taking a step backwards?' It wasn't. It was a step up because I got a chance to experience everything in the operation of a baseball team.

You are going to want to read the whole thing. But, I did want to make one more excerpt. Because anytime this name pops up in a baseball article, I am - for some reason - compelled to highlight it.

A trip to Chicago in early 1986 to meet with a close friend who worked in promotions for Sports Illustrated and was escorting [Elle] Macpherson on a 15-city tour — "I went down to see him, of course," Smith said with a chuckle — led to a visit to old Comiskey Park, where Smith learned of an opening with the Twins as an assistant director of minor leagues and scouting.

He quickly interviewed, got the job and continued to learn and grow as an executive. And in September of 2007, he was named just the fifth general manager in Twins history.

What? You thought it would be Comiskey Park?