Roland Hemond
From BR Bullpen
Roland Hemond
- Born October 26, 1929 in Little Falls, RI
Roland Hemond has been in baseball since 1951. After high school he spent four years in the Coast Guard, then got a job with the Hartford Chiefs in 1951, doing just about everything from sweeping the stands to answering phones. He moved to the Boston Braves as a temporary assistant. Two years later he became assistant farm director of the Milwaukee Braves. Hemond was then hired as farm and scouting director of the expansion Los Angeles Angels by GM Fred Haney.
He was hired as the General Manager of the Chicago White Sox in 1971 from the California Angels, where he spent ten years. In 14 years with the White Sox, he was named Executive of the Year in 1972 and 1983. He served as GM of the Baltimore Orioles from 1988 to 1995 and again was named Executive of the Year in 1989. Hemond was assistant GM of the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1998 to 2000. Since 2000, he has been an advisor to the White Sox. He was on the front office staff when the club won the 2005 World Series.
The Hemond family has quite a lineage in sports management. His father in law, John Quinn was a general manager for 28 years and his brother-in-law Bob Quinn was also a major league general manager. His son, Bob Hemond, is the general manager for the Sacramento River Cats of the Pacific Coast League. Another son, Jay Hemond, played a small role of a baseball player in the movie Field of Dreams and served as the film's baseball trainer.
He's been an executive for seven teams and three times was named Major League Executive of the Year -- by The Sporting News in 1972 with the White Sox and in 1989 with Baltimore and by United Press International in 1983 for his work with the White Sox. Through the years, Hemond groomed such executives as Dave Dombrowski, Walt Jocketty, Dan Evans and Doug Melvin. He helped create the Arizona Fall League and played a significant role in Team USA's preparation for the Pan American Games and the 2000 Olympics.
In 2003, Hemond was the recipient of the Branch Rickey Award, which is given to the major league personality who best demonstrates exemplary community service.
| Preceded by Stuart Holcomb | Chicago White Sox General Manager 1973-1985 | Succeeded by Ken Harrelson |
| Preceded by Hank Peters | Baltimore Orioles General Manager 1988-1995 | Succeeded by Pat Gillick |
