Dan O’Dowd was named Executive Vice President, General Manager on Sept. 20, 1999 and enters his ninth season in that role. Only seven other general managers have been with their respective clubs for a longer period of time.

O'Dowd formed the roster for the 2007 club which won a franchise-record 90 games and captured the first National League Championship in Rockies history. On Opening Day last year, he agreed to a two-year extension that will keep him with the club through at least 2009. By the end of the season, he was celebrating the franchise's first World Series berth.

The 2007 Rockies proved to be as resilient as perhaps any other team in baseball history, staving off elimination game-after-game throughout the final days of September. The players on that team, many of whom came up through the Rockies' organization, displayed a tremendous amount of character and determination fighting through a season that saw the Rockies fall as many as nine games below .500. Despite a slow start, things turned for the club late in the second month of the season, as the Rockies posted the best record in the National League from May 22 through the end of the regular season. During that stretch, the team went 72-46 (.610) and posted the longest winning streak in franchise history. The season culminated with 21 victories in 22 games from mid-September through the first two rounds of the playoffs, vaulting the team into the World Series.

Colorado's World Series roster featured 16 players who were originally drafted or signed as a nondrafted free agent by the Rockies. Of those 16 players, 12 of them, including Manny Corpas, Garrett Atkins, Troy Tulowitzki and Brad Hawpe, were drafted or signed during O'Dowd's tenure as general manager. The 2007 season marked the continuation of an organizational plan that began five years ago. Beginning in 2003, O'Dowd joined with others in the front office in building a commitment to scouting and player development. The dividends from that commitment are already apparent, as the Rockies were named Organization of the Year by Baseball America at the 2007 Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn. The selection, which is based on a franchise's performance during the season with the team, coach, general manager and organizational package taken as a whole, is the first for the Rockies since the inception of the award in 1982.

The abundance of prospects in the Rockies system has already produced several contributors at the Major League level, including Jeff Francis, Hawpe, Matt Holliday and Tulowitzki, all of whom received vote for the three major BBWAA awards in 2007; National League Cy Young, Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year, respectively.

In addition to the progress at the major league level, the organization’s farm system continues to display unlimited promise in many regards. The Rockies were ranked by Baseball America as having the second-best farm system in all of baseball prior to the 2007 season. The club’s 2006 organizational Player of the Year, Joe Koshansky made his Major League debut with the club in September while the club's Pitcher of the Year last season, Franklin Morales, was dominant in his brief stint in the big leagues and contributed during the playoffs. Also, last winter, infielder Jayson Nix emerged on the world stage, capturing Most Outstanding Player honors as the second baseman for gold medal-winning Team USA at the World Cup in Taipei City, Taiwan. In 2004, the Colorado farm system produced the Minor League Player of the Year, Jeff Francis, and the Minor League Rolaids Relief Man Award winner, Ryan Speier.

O'Dowd continues to supplement the organization with trades and free agent signings. This past offseason, he brought in veteran reliever Luis Vizcaino to add depth to the back end of the bullpen. That addition, along with re-signing Matt Herges and Mark Redman and the acquisition of Jose Capellan helps solidify a pitching staff that posted the lowest ERA in the National League after the All-Star break in 2007.

There have already been six players selected by Colorado in the 2002 June draft that have played in the Major Leagues, as their big league debuts came less than five years after being drafted. The club's top pick in 2005, Tulowitzki, was a top candidate for Rookie of the Year in his first full season in '07. In an effort to sustain that kind of success, the franchise has not given up a draft pick due to a free agent signing since 2001. The club retained all of its picks again for the 2007 Draft, the sixth straight year that the Rockies had a selection in each round.

For O'Dowd and the Rockies, it is the continuation of a process. "We as an organization are built around our process. Everything we do as a group is done with the intention of moving our process forward."

A key component in that process is finding players who possess character both on and off the field. The only way to make that a reality is to begin from the ground up. Since 2001, the Rockies have hosted a collection of 25 prospects each January for the Winter Development Program. During the three-week program, players go through not only physical training, but also classroom sessions and mental seminars.

While O'Dowd and his staff have proven successful in signing draft picks in recent years, he has been just as successful in retaining those players, especially as of late. Last winter, Aaron Cook, Holliday, Torrealba and Tulowitzki all agreed to multi-year deals, joining Jeff Francis as players who are under contract with the club beyond 2008.

O’Dowd’s tenure in Colorado has been marked by much more than quality drafts. There have already been two members of his staff who have gone on to become general managers for other teams. Josh Byrnes spent three years on O’Dowd’s staff and is entering his second season as General Manager for the N.L. West-champion Arizona Diamondbacks. Jon Daniels, who was the organization’s baseball operations intern in 2001, just completed his second season as General Manager of the Texas Rangers. These are just two of the many O’Dowd colleagues who have gone on to further their careers.

Prior to joining the Rockies, O’Dowd served the Indians front office for 11 years, from 1988-98, most recently as Vice President of Baseball Operations and Assistant General Manager. During his tenure in Cleveland, the Indians won four straight AL Central pennants (1995-98) and advanced to the World Series in 1995 and 1997. He spent his first five seasons (1988-92) as Cleveland’s Director of Player Development, cultivating future All-Stars such as Charles Nagy, Manny Ramirez, Jeff Shaw and Jim Thome. Indians president Hank Peters promoted O’Dowd after Baseball America named Cleveland its 1992 Organization of the Year. O’Dowd spent six seasons as Assistant GM and directly oversaw the player development and scouting departments. From 1988-92, O’Dowd oversaw the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, Cleveland’s Triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate. During that period, the farm team advanced to the PCL playoffs four straight seasons (1989-92) and won the league championship in 1992.

Before joining the Indians, O’Dowd worked five years for the Orioles. He left Baltimore after two and a half seasons as Assistant Director of Player Development and Scouting. O’Dowd also worked in Baltimore’s broadcasting and marketing departments.

Born Sept. 6, 1959, Dan and his wife, Jackie, have three children and make their home in South Denver. He is a graduate of Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla.