Ed Wade
From BR Bullpen
- School Temple University
- Born January 31, 1956
[edit] Biographical Information
Ed Wade replaced Lee Thomas as General Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1998. The team never made the postseason in his eight seasons with the club. In Philadelphia, he was known for his fondness for acquiring "proven" relievers in trades while paying full price for the privilege. This tendancy was decried by observers from the sabermetric community who consider relief pitchers the most easily replaceable of players. He was dismissed as GM following the 2005 season. He served as a Major League scout for the San Diego Padres until his hiring at the end of the 2007 season as the General Manager of the Houston Astros.
Wade spent four seasons at GM in Houston, but they were not particularly successful. In 2008, he got in a fight with P Shawn Chacon, who attempted to throttle him in the team clubhouse. He changed managers a number of times as the team kept falling in the standings, and given a small budget because owner Drayton McLane was looking to sell the team and did not want to take on any large financial commitments, he was forced to trade away a number of star players, most notably Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt, Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn, while obtaining only prospects in return. The Astros had the worst record in franchise history in 2011, as the youngsters were unable to replace the production of the departed veterans. On November 27, 2011, soon after Jim Crane bought the team from McLane, Wade was fired along with the man who hired him, team president Tal Smith. he was replaced on an interim basis by Assistant GM Dave Gottfried. He then returned to the Phillies organization to work as a scout.
| Preceded by Lee Thomas | Philadelphia Phillies General Manager 1998-2005 | Succeeded by Pat Gillick |
| Preceded by Tim Purpura | Houston Astros General Manager 2007-2011 | Succeeded by Dave Gottfried |
