Mike Rizzo

Michael Anthony Rizzo (born December 14, 1960) is an American baseball front office executive who is the president of baseball operations and general manager of the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB).

After a brief playing career in minor league baseball, Rizzo transitioned into coaching and scouting.

The Angels drafted Rizzo in the 22nd round, with the 554th overall selection, in the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft.

He played for the Salem Angels (Class A Short Season), Peoria Suns (Class A) and Redwood Pioneers (Class A Advanced) from 1982 to 1984.

After the 1984 season, the Angels released Rizzo.

His father suggested that he was not skilled enough to reach the major leagues, and advised he attend college.

Rizzo became an assistant coach at the University of Illinois while earning a Bachelor of Arts in Communications in 1988.

Larry Himes, the scout who drafted Rizzo, became the general manager of the Chicago White Sox, and he hired Rizzo as a scout for the Upper Midwest region.

Rizzo joined the Arizona Diamondbacks when the franchise was created in 1998, and served as the director of scouting for the Diamondbacks from 2000 to 2006.

He helped transform the Diamondbacks farm system with exceptionally successful drafts.

He became the director of scouting for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2000.

Rizzo earned a World Series ring with Arizona in 2001, and the organization brought an astounding number of homegrown players through to the Major Leagues during his tenure.

Following the 2005 campaign, Rizzo was promoted to Vice President of Scouting Operations.

That same year, the Diamondbacks were named Topps' Organization of the Year.

Rizzo joined the Nationals in 2006 as an assistant general manager.

Brandon Webb (2006 Cy Young Award winner), Carlos Gonzalez, Chad Tracy, Justin Upton, Stephen Drew, Dan Uggla, Micah Owings, Tony Pena, Mark Reynolds, Conor Jackson, Miguel Montero, Chris Snyder, Carlos Quentin, Max Scherzer and Brett Anderson were all signed by Arizona under Rizzo's watch.

Seeking to replace Joe Garagiola Jr.. as the Diamondbacks' general manager, the team chose Josh Byrnes over Rizzo.

As a result, Rizzo joined the Washington Nationals organization, when he was appointed assistant general manager and vice president of baseball operations by Jim Bowden on July 24, 2006.

This move coincided with the franchise's ownership transfer from Major League Baseball to a Washington, D.C.-based investment group headed by Ted Lerner.

After 50 years in professional baseball, Phil was eventually part of the inaugural induction class that entered the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame in 2008.

He succeeded Jim Bowden as the Nationals' general manager in 2009, and was promoted to team president in 2013.

Rizzo and the Nationals won the franchise's first World Series in, defeating the Houston Astros in seven games.

Rizzo, a third-generation scout, grew up in Chicago as one of four children to Phil and Bernadine Rizzo.

His father, Phil, was a former minor league baseball player who drove a truck for the city and scouted for the California Angels on a part-time basis.

The Angels eventually made Phil a full-time scout, as many of the players he identified reached the majors.

Three days after Bowden's sudden resignation on March 1, 2009, Rizzo was promoted to general manager on an interim basis by team president Stan Kasten.

He was named the full-time senior vice president and general manager on August 20, 2009.

On October 19, 2010, Rizzo signed a five-year contract extension and was promoted to executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager.

The last two years of this contract were club options.

On June 24, 2021 at Miami, the Nationals beat the Marlins, 7-3, marking Rizzo's 1,000th win as general manager since taking over the club during 2009 Spring Training.

In doing so, he became the ninth active president of baseball operations and general manager to reach the 1,000 win mark and the sixth active to do it with one team.

Since 2012, the Nationals have the fifth-best regular season record in Major League Baseball over this span, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Guardians.

While with the White Sox, Rizzo signed 2014 Hall of Fame inductee and two-time American League MVP Frank Thomas.

He also scouted for the Boston Red Sox.

The Nationals have had success under Rizzo, winning a World Series in 2019 and four National League East titles (2012, 2014, 2016, 2017) during his tenure.

In April 2022, Rizzo was inducted into the Triton College Alumni Wall of Fame.

In December 2021, he was named the Italian American Baseball Foundation Executive of the Year.

Phil continued his scouting career with the Nationals as a senior advisor to the GM until his passing on February 1, 2020.

Mike Rizzo's grandfather, Vito, was a semi-pro player before founding the family business: scouting.

Rizzo attended Holy Cross High School in River Grove, Illinois, Triton College, and Saint Xavier University, where he played college baseball for the Triton Trojans and Saint Xavier Cougars.