Philip Dominic Seghi (March 9, 1909 – January 8, 1987) was an American front-office executive in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. A longtime associate of Gabe Paul, Seghi was credited with signing

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...

, the all-time leader in hits, when Seghi was farm system and scouting director of the Cincinnati Reds in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

. He was born in Cedar Point, Illinois, to an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

immigrant family, attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, and was an infielder in minor league baseball during his

playing Play is a range of Motivation#Incentive theories: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, intrinsically motivated activities done for recreational pleasure and enjoyment. Play is commonly associated with children and juvenile-level activities, but m ...

career. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Seghi was a manager in the lower minor leagues in 1946–55, working in the Pittsburgh Pirates and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

organizations. After joining the Redlegs (as the Reds were known from 1953–58) as a scout, Seghi succeeded Bill McKechnie Jr. as Cincinnati's farm director after the season. Serving under Paul and his successor, Bill DeWitt, Seghi remained with the Reds until

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

, a period during which the Reds built a player development organization that provided the foundation for the "

Big Red Machine The Big Red Machine is a nickname for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team that dominated the National League from 1970 to 1979 and is widely recognized as being among the best in baseball history. The team won six National League West Division ti ...

" dynasty. In

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

, Seghi was promoted by DeWitt to assistant general manager, but a change in ownership and the arrival of

Bob Howsam Robert Lee Howsam (February 28, 1918 – February 19, 2008) was an American professional sports executive and entrepreneur. In 1959, he played a key role in establishing two leagues—the American Football League, which succeeded and merged with ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

as GM caused Seghi to leave Cincinnati for the Oakland Athletics at the close of that season. Led by flamboyant owner

Charlie Finley Charles Oscar Finley (February 22, 1918 – February 19, 1996), nicknamed Charlie O or Charley O, was an American businessman who owned Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas C ...

and awash with young talent, the A's also were on the verge of a dynasty, winning five consecutive American League West Division titles (1971–75) and three consecutive AL pennants and

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

titles (1972–74). From 1968–71 Seghi served as Oakland's farm and scouting director and assistant to Finley, who was his own general manager. By

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

, however, Seghi was back working with Paul as assistant general manager of the Cleveland Indians, and succeeded Paul as the Indians' GM in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

. His most notable achievement occurred after the 1974 season, when he and owner Nick Mileti appointed

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams, from to . The only player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of both ...

(signed and developed by the Cincinnati farm system of the 1950s) as Major League Baseball's first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

manager. Seghi would serve 13 full seasons as Cleveland's general manager, but the Indians enjoyed only three above-.500 seasons during that time (, and ). Seghi stepped down after the 1985 campaign to become a senior player personnel adviser with Cleveland. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tr ...

, on January 8, 1987, at the age of 77.

External links

References

*Obituary,

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

, January 9, 1987. {{DEFAULTSORT:Seghi, Phil 1909 births 1987 deaths Albany Senators players American sportspeople of Italian descent Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Birmingham Barons players Cedar Rapids Bunnies players Cedar Rapids Raiders players Cincinnati Reds executives Cincinnati Reds scouts Cleveland Indians executives Dallas Rebels players Deaths from cancer in California Fargo-Moorhead Twins players Hornell Maples players Keokuk Pirates players Major League Baseball executives Major League Baseball farm directors Major League Baseball general managers Northwestern University alumni Northwestern Wildcats baseball players Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball players Oakland Athletics executives Pensacola Pilots players People from Cedar Point, Illinois Peoria Tractors players Portsmouth Cubs players Sioux City Cowboys players Tallahassee Pirates players Wilkes-Barre Barons players Williamsport Grays players Winnipeg Maroons (baseball) players