- Philadelphia Phillies are in the postseason for the fourth year in a row
- Owner John Middleton’s team has the third-highest payroll in baseball.
- Dave Dombrowski joined the club in 2020 and has built a juggernaut roster.
PHILADELPHIA — They are friends – business partners really – who share the same passion and goals, but they can’t sit together.
One looks like a GQ model, often wearing a sports jacket, his hair combed perfectly, always looking relaxed and composed. The other dresses like he could be a stadium worker, constantly in motion, pacing by the batting cage, even picking up baseballs after batting practice as if he’s trying to justify a minimum wage salary.
One is comfortably rich. The other generationally wealthy.
Together, John Middleton and Dave Dombrowski are baseball’s incomparable power couple, striving to create a legacy that will forever be remembered in Philadelphia Phillies’ history.
Middleton, 70, is the managing partner who owns the Phillies.
Dombrowski, 69, is the president of baseball operations who runs the Phillies.
Together, no owner-front office tandem in baseball may be more closely aligned, sharing the ultimate respect and admiration for one another, while doing everything in their power to bring a World Series championship to Philadelphia.
“This is all I think about,’ Middleton told USA TODAY Sports, whose team faces a 1-0 deficit in this best-of-five NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with Game 2 at Citizens Bank Park. “This is the most important thing I’ve ever done professionally. It means more to me than anything I’ve done, really.
“I want to bring a World Series championship to Philadelphia. This is the best team we’ve had since I became owner, and it’s also the toughest team we’ve ever had. They keep taking punches, get off the canvas, and hit the other team back in the nose. It’s a little bit like that ’80 [World Series championship] team with the toughness to get them over the hump.
“I really think that we are the best team in baseball.
“Now, we’ve got to go out and prove it.’
Middleton, whose family goes back 150 years in Philadelphia, lives and breathes each night with the Phillies. His wife’s family has been in the area even longer.
He sits in on scouting and development meetings. He roams the clubhouse to talk with players before games. He’s in the stands with the fans during games. He’s always on the move.
“I love walking through the stands,’ Middleton says. “People always ask me why don’t I bring security with me. I say, ‘Why would I need security? If I need security at my own stadium, I’m clearly not doing my job well.”
And when he’s not walking, he’ll sit in his own ballpark suite with his wife, Leigh, but never ventures into Dombrowski’s suite.
“I can’t sit with Dave,’ Middleton says. “He and his staff don’t need me in the room. Frankly, I don’t think they want me in the room.
“My guess is he probably would let me if I asked. I’m also quite sure that he would prefer me not to ask.’’
Middleton, wearing a red Phillies shirt and khaki pants, is the one responsible for the entire organization, with Dombrowski in charge of the baseball side, but the reality is they are true business partners.
“They’re great together because they’re all about winning,’ agent Scott Boras says. “It’s clear they make their own decisions independently, but from a development standpoint, from a negotiating free-agent standpoint, they’re a committed group. They have a real idea what they want.’’
That, of course, is to deliver the Phillies’ first World Series championship since 2008, and only the third in the 143-year history of the franchise.
“I have told Dave that his job is to figure out how to win,’ Middleton says. “My job is to figure out how to get him the money so he can do his job well.’’
Middleton and Dombrowski have been together nearly five years now but can’t think of a single disagreement. Middleton controls the money, and Dombrowski has virtual full carte blanche on baseball decisions, working in unison to make the Phillies one of baseball’s premier destinations.
“I don’t think you could have – from my perspective, an organization’s perspective, a team’s perspective, a fan’s perspective,’ Dombrowski says, ‘a better owner than John. He’s just absolutely tremendous. He wants to win. He wants to do things first class. He lets you do your job, and he cares so passionately.
“That’s why I know what this would mean to bring a championship to John, this organization, and this city. I mean, anybody you talk to, I don’t think there’s a more passionate place in the game.’
Dave Dombrowski, hard to get
Their relationship began after the COVID season when the Phillies began looking for a new head of baseball operations after re-assigning Matt Klentak. Middleton and Phillies president Andy MacPhail decided to make separate lists of potential candidates.
Middleton submitted his list of top candidates.
MacPhail jotted down only one name: Dombrowski.
When MacPhail called him, Dombrowski had no interest. He and his wife, Karie, had just moved to Nashville, built their dream home and were involved in a group trying to lure an expansion franchise to the city.
The Phillies then turned to Thad Levine of the Minnesota Twins. They brought him in, determined he was their man, only for Levine to change his mind, and stay with the Twins.
So, Middleton had MacPhail reach out to Dombrowski again. Same answer.
Middleton told him to try again. For the third time, Dombrowski said no.
“I finally told Andy that if I’m going to hear ‘no,’ I want to hear it from (Dombrowski’s) mouth,’ Middleton says.
MacPhail reached back out and asked Dombrowski if it was OK for him to talk to Middleton. Middleton called, Dombrowski said no again, but Middleton demanded to know the reason. Dombrowski explained that while he was flattered by the Phillies’ interest, he was committed to Nashville and their group, trying to either land an expansion team or have the Tampa Bay Rays or Oakland A’s relocate to Nashville.
“I had nothing against the Phillies,’ Dombrowski said, “but what it really came down to is that I made a commitment to the people in Nashville. I gave them my word.’
Middleton’s response: “Dave, as chairman of the ownership committee, I can tell you right now, there’s no chance of you getting an expansion team anytime soon. And there’s no chance of a team relocating to Nashville anytime soon.’
If Dombrowski didn’t believe Middleton, he invited him to call Manfred directly.
Dombrowski called, and Manfred echoed Middleton’s opinion. Expansion wouldn’t happen until at least 2030, maybe 2031.
Dombrowski called Middleton, reciprocated interest for the first time, and Middleton told him: “Here’s what we had in mind for a salary and I’ll put in a clause that you could void the contract if Nashville has a chance to land a team.’
Dombrowski, without a single negotiation, accepted. He only asked Middleton for his vision.
Middleton: “I want to win now, and I want to win in the future.’
The conversation lasted only a few minutes. Dombrowski was hired on Dec. 11, 2020.
“It all happened within a day,’ Dombrowski says. “I mean, it was boom, boom, boom.’
And ever since Dombrowski’s arrival, the Phillies have won. They produced their first winning record in 10 years in 2021 and reached the postseason in each of the past four seasons, but have fallen short of the ultimate prize.
Yet, World Series trophy or not, the two have grown so close that it’s almost comical how their own contract negotiations have transpired.
Where else would you have an owner offer his employee a lucrative four-year contract extension in 2022, only for the employee to negotiate a three-year deal for less money?
“I remember asking him what he wanted in years and dollars,’ Middleton recalls. “Dave says, ‘Two years seems fair, and you already pay me a lot of money, so I don’t need an increase.’
“I told him, ‘I would like to extend you four years and forget about no increase.”
Dombrowski: “How about we split the different and settle on three years?’’
The contract was finalized two days later.
Where else would you have a boss declare that you have lifetime security only for the employee to tell him not to be silly?
“I offered Dave a lifetime contract,’ Middleton says, “and he said that was too much and would raise questions. So, I told him he has a lifetime contract anyway. My biggest concern with Dave is just making sure he is happy in Philadelphia.
“I have been privileged in my career to work with a handful of executives who are truly elite, world class. When I am lucky enough to find someone that is that good, I hold onto them as tightly as I can because replacing them is impossible. Dave is one of those.’
‘It’s just money’
Everything, of course, is judged by a World Series in Philadelphia. Anything short of a championship trophy and a parade is considered a failure. This is why they went out and dominated the trade deadline. Dombrowski acquired All-Star closer Jhoan Duran, center fielder Harrison Bader and signed free-agent reliever David Robertson in July.
They pulled off the coup by trading four prospects, but none of their most prized ones: Andrew Painter, Aidan Miller or Justin Crawford.
The only real cost to Middleton was money, paying Robertson $6 million, which translates to a $12 million expenditure for salary cap ramifications. It increased their luxury tax payroll to $311 million – third-largest in baseball behind the Dodgers and New York Mets.
“It didn’t cost us players, it didn’t cost us prospects,’ Middleton said, “it was only money. I want to win. If you win a World Series, does it really matter how much you had to spend? Does anyone know whether the ’27 Yankees made money? Did they lose money? Nobody knows. Nobody cares.
“All anyone remembers is that they were great. We want to be great, too. We want to be World Series champions.’
Middleton, who became the Phillies’ control person and managing partner in November 2016, isn’t about to let money stand in the way of building a perennial championship contender.
He opened his checkbook and signed outfielder Bryce Harper to a 13-year, $330 million contract in 2019, and didn’t stop. Twenty-two months later, he signed shortstop Trea Turner to an 11-year, $300 million contract. Then came DH Kyle Schwarber with a four-year, $79 million contract and outfielder Nick Castellanos to a five-year, $100 million deal in the same week. And then they signed ace Zack Wheeler to a record three-year, $126 million extension.
“It’s just money,’ says Middleton. “The fans don’t care how much I make or how much I lose. They just want to know how many World Series trophies you win.
“So do I.’
‘Wouldn’t chnage it for the world’
It was the signing of Harper that started the renaissance. Middleton negotiated around the clock for two days with Boras, Harper’s agent, in Las Vegas. The meetings concluded, there was no deal, and Middleton flew back to Philadelphia. Middleton stopped long enough to grab some clothes, pick up his wife, Leigh, and immediately returned to Las Vegas for a dinner date with Harper and his wife, Kayla.
It was a table of five, but it was virtually a conversation of one. Leigh talked about her passion and love for the city of Philadelphia and the Phillies. She talked about their love affair that began on a blind date set up by their own mothers, with Leigh and John born at the same hospital and the families attending the same church. They got engaged after Leigh turned 19 in 1976, married on June 17, 1978, and have been inseparable since, raising two children.
Leigh was the one who ultimately convinced Harper and his wife that Philadelphia is where they needed to spend at least the next 13 years of their lives.
“Leigh kind of sold me, man’ Harper says. “She had such a knack of talking to us. It was all about family. It was all about Philadelphia and her love for the Phillies and how much the Phillies meant to the city. We had so much fun being able to sit there and talk to John and Leigh about everything Philly.’
It turned out to be the best career decision Harper says he ever made, and even with 22 players earning more money this season, he never once has he regretted not having an opt-out clause.
“It’s been so great here, I wouldn’t change it for the world,’ Harper said. “I didn’t want an opt-out. The biggest thing for me was that I didn’t want everybody talking about where I was going. That’s all anybody talked about when I was in D.C.
“When I signed here, John really talked about these next 13 years, what it was going to look like and how we were going to communicate. He’s always had his door open from the jump. Always. He just wants to win so bad. It’s the same with Dave. Anything we really need, he’s talking to us about it, from families to planes to food or stuff in the training room, technology, everything. They always communicate or have an answer for us.
“It just goes to show how much they want to win, in any capacity, on the field, off the field, always trying to get use that leg up on everything.’
The Phillies have purchased the most advanced technology. They spent $4 million creating space for 60 new offices for their research and development department. They are in negotiations on a massive project to make their Clearwater, Fla., spring-training complex into a state-of-the art facility. They expanded and remodeled their family room at Citizens Bank Park at the tune of $8 million. The players make requests, Dombrowski and Middleton listen, and they deliver.
“There’s something about having an owner who wants to win and will do everything in his power to help us win,’ Harper says. “You just don’t see that in today’s game. You can tell how much he loves this team, and not just him, but the whole family. Man, they really enjoy it.
“That’s why it would be so great for John and Leigh and the fans to and everyone here to win this thing. We’ve been here in the playoffs the last couple of years, but we haven’t gotten the job done.
“The time is now.’
‘I feel more urgency for this group’
The Phillies know the window isn’t closing, but this team still will look different next year. They have four key free agents – Schwarber, catcher J.T. Realmuto, starter Ranger Suarez and Bader. They will do everything in their power to re-sign Schwarber, who led the NL with 56 homers and is the Phillies’ clubhouse leader, but surely can’t sign them all.
“I think Kyle likes it here,’ Middleton says, “and we intend to do everything to make him like it here.’’
It’s not just the amount of money that will determine Schwarber’s decision, but the chance to win, the people he’ll be surrounded by, and the community itself.
Advantage: Middleton.
“If there’s anything we need, he wants to make sure that’s going to be provided because he wants the best out of us,’ Schwarber says. “That’s something that you can’t underestimate because it doesn’t happen everywhere. He’s very invested in Philadelphia. He’s very invested in what he does with Citizens Bank [Park]. And he’s very invested with this team.
“It’s been like that ever since I signed here, and as a player you appreciate that because it could be just the status quo. But he’s always checking in and making sure how guys are doing and seeing how morale is. And what’s really cool is that whenever someone has a charity event or something outside of the field, he and Leigh are always there to support, making donations to help the community.
“We all want to perform well for him because we know how much he cares for us.’
Middleton wouldn’t have traveled with the team to Los Angeles – even sitting on the tarmac for hours before their flight departed – if he didn’t want to share his team’s euphoria when they clinched the NL East. He even took a few swigs from the beer bong passed around in the clubhouse, something he doesn’t remember doing before.
“I feel more urgency for this group,’ Middleton says. “I mean, I’m getting older, too. But you age as an owner an executive differently than a world-class competitive athlete. So, there’s a tomorrow for me that there isn’t for some of the players.
“I want this group to win. We’ve had such a great regular season record (368 victories, tied for 5th most) the last four years, which is nice, but without the title, it seems a little hollow.
“At the end of the day, there’s only one winner. There are 29 losers.
“I want to be that winner.’
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