Matt Forman: From budding sports writer to assistant GM

When Matt Forman graduated from college, he envisioned himself embarking on a sports writing career -- which he did.

A stint at Baseball America led Forman to a different path, however, one he had never even considered: the front office. Forman landed an internship with Cleveland in 2013, working his way up to assistant general manager less than four years later.

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand sat down with Forman during the season to discuss his journalism roots, the scouting world, the importance of culture within an organization and much more in the latest edition of Executive Access.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

MLB.com: You grew up in the Philadelphia area. I assume the Phillies were your favorite team as a kid?

Forman: I was a big-time Philadelphia sports fan growing up; Phillies were my favorite team. Some of my fondest baseball memories are in the early days at Veterans Stadium. I really enjoyed going to games with my dad, with my friends, and those 1993 Phillies are some of my very first memories of life -- and especially my very first memories of baseball. I was 5 years old and my dad would record the games on VHS. I would wake up the next morning to watch the replay. Great memories.

MLB.com: You got your degrees in journalism and American history from Northwestern University in 2011. Was a career in baseball always the goal?

Forman: I always really enjoyed writing and was passionate about sports -- specifically baseball. In high school, I was thinking about what a career might look like; where I should go to school, what to study, and I thought a career in sports journalism would be a great deal of fun. I thought about marrying those two passions together and took some steps in that direction.

MLB.com: Which sportswriters did you admire?

Forman: The sports journalism community at Medill at Northwestern is a pretty proud one. I admired Michael Wilbon and J.A. Adande in that regard. Growing up, I was also an avid reader of Jayson Stark, who has had an exceptional career.

MLB.com: You were the editor in chief of The Daily Northwestern and you interned at the Miami Herald, covering the Marlins and Dolphins. Your first job was writing for Baseball America, where you were once quoted as saying becoming editor there would be your dream job. When did you first start thinking about making a move to a club front office?

Forman: A path in baseball working for a team, I really didn't see that as a possibility. Through a number of the publications that I had worked for -- Miami Herald, Baseball America -- I started to establish some relationships with people in the game. One of those relationships was with Victor Wang, who's now our senior vice president of player acquisitions. Victor started interning with the team as a high schooler; he was a year behind me at Northwestern. Victor and I connected while in school and we stayed in touch after; Victor actually encouraged me to apply for a position with the team.

At the time, I probably took for granted how challenging it is to get your foot in the door with a professional baseball organization. I didn't pursue a job with 30 teams. I didn't send my résumé around. It was kind of a one-of-one. I was actually rejected from my first internship application to work for Cleveland; I received the nicest rejection letter ever from Paul Gillispie, who's now our senior vice president of scouting -- and was the best man in my wedding. I applied again the next year to work for Cleveland and was offered an opportunity to take the internship. I don't know that it changed until I had the opportunity right in front of me.

MLB.com: Why was the Cleveland organization so appealing to you?

Forman: I didn't know if I was qualified to work for a team. I was passionate about baseball and wanted to demonstrate my work, but I didn't know that I had the qualifications to work in a front office. I tried to further my understanding of the game and build relationships to put myself in a different position. Cleveland had a pretty strong reputation for investing in the development of people and for its culture.

I know from your interviews in the past on Executive Access that the Mark Shapiro tree is one that people speak fondly of; from a distance, I really appreciated the way the organization thought about investing in its people, in the development of its staff and in the culture it wants to create. For me, that was really attractive.

MLB.com: What kind of responsibilities did you have as an intern that first year?

Forman: My initial internship was an amateur scouting, and in the 10 years since, I've had my foot in the scouting and acquisition spaces ever since. Scouting and acquisitions has been and remains kind of near and dear to my heart. In my first year, I really focused on the administration of the draft process. It's great way to learn. There are things that have since become automated that I was doing then or don't exist any anymore, but at the time, there was no better way to learn.

It provided me an opportunity to watch video that was submitted from the field, to read scouting reports that were submitted from the field, to talk with our staff about what they were seeing when they were going to watch players or meet with players. It gave me just a deep appreciation for what we did and also why and how we did it.

MLB.com: You have been part of a front office that has made some major trades in recent years. The club traded two top prospects for Andrew Miller in 2016, then dealt Francisco Lindor to the Mets in 2021. How difficult is it to make a big trade?

Forman: Good question. They can be excruciating. We've tried to be really deliberate it in our preparation for those opportunities, so while the outcome often has big emotions attached to those outcomes, we try to do what we can to prepare for those opportunities. One of the hardest things that we have to do in our jobs is balancing the present with what's immediately in front of us with the future and what teams could look like over a multi-year horizon. It's a high wire act.

MLB.com: What was the 2016 postseason run like for you?

Forman: Incredible. In a postseason context, the team-building stuff from a leadership and management perspective is done. There's not much you can do. We really enjoy the games as a fan and take them in. That 2016 season was a lot of fun and special for the community and for the city of Cleveland. So many people across the organization worked so hard to put us in that position. I have great memories of spending time with my then-fiancé. The memories are fond and vivid as I think back.

MLB.com: What is your most vivid memory from Game 7?

Forman: Rajai Davis' home run off [Aroldis] Chapman. I remember turning to JoHanna, my fiancée at the time and now my wife, and kind of lifting her up in the air. I was so enthralled by the moment. That stands out most. My memories of the conclusion of the game aren't quite as vivid. I remember being really proud of the accomplishments of the season and so many people that had contributed to the organization being in that position: scouts, coaches, executives. Despite the loss, I remember feeling a lot of pride for the organization.

MLB.com: You were promoted to assistant GM two days after Game 7. What did that mean to you?

Forman: It all happened so quickly. Derek [Falvey] was interviewing for the Twins job during that postseason run, so when these things happen a couple days later, Derek is no longer in Cleveland and now he's working for a rival club in our division. Carter Hawkins and I were promoted at the same time to assistant GM, and I think we were both excited about the opportunity to continue leading the organization in new ways. Despite Derek leaving, it wasn't a dramatic change in how we operated. As an organization, we've certainly had a fair share of people in leadership roles take on new leadership roles elsewhere, and one of the things that has made our organization so resilient is the ability to pick up when someone leaves and keep the trains running.

MLB.com: In 2017, Baseball America editor in chief John Manuel joked that when Cleveland wins the World Series, he's looking for a playoff share. How unique is it to have multiple front office members who came from a sports writing background?

Forman: There are a number of people who preceded me in that respect. Sky Andrecheck, one of our other assistant GMs, did some really great work. Victor Wang did the same thing. One of the great things about our organization is that we've often looked for people with unique and diverse experiences and backgrounds and skills to be able to contribute, so different publications provided a platform for people to showcase the types of work that they could do. Baseball America was one of them where John and others did a great job of cultivating a pipeline of writers who are super-passionate and doing great work and then providing a forum for them to demonstrate that work.

MLB.com: You ranked prospects at Baseball America; with that history, do you pay particular attention to those lists like Baseball America and MLB Pipeline now?

Forman: The prospect publications do an incredible job. Really, I think they're looking for a consensus view of how the industry is thinking about players and they can get a pretty good pulse for how on average across 30 teams, people are thinking about things. The beauty of rankings is that two different people who are totally rational can look at something and view it totally differently. Sure, there are differences of opinion and it's fun to have those discussions, but I think that the work that those publications do is pretty exceptional.

MLB.com: You guys obviously have your own opinions on your prospects and on prospects in other organizations, yet when a trade gets made at the Deadline or in the offseason, all you hear is, "That guy was the No. 3 prospect in the organization," which can shape the public perception of a deal.

Forman: Sure. From a player development perspective, we often don't reference the rankings. We're not thinking about whether a player is No. 1, No. 30, if he's a Top 100 guy; our goal is to provide the best developmental environment we can for every player to help them become the best version of themselves. The way things are perceived externally is totally out of our control.

MLB.com: Do you think players pay attention to where they're ranked?

Forman: Sure.

MLB.com: What is your favorite part of your job?

Forman: The people. I work with and for great people, and I'm fortunate to work for and with some my best friends. I'm pretty invigorated by solving complex problems with people who are passionate about what they're doing, and I feel really lucky to be able to do that every day.

MLB.com: Least favorite?

Forman: We all make sacrifices to be able to do what we do. I don't know that we can ever find perfect work-life balance or that we can find work-life harmony, so time away from family might be the hardest thing.

MLB.com: What is the Trade Deadline like for you?

Forman: I'm not sure that I could paint an accurate picture of what that day is like. There's a lot of anticipation, there's a lot of preparation, and as I mentioned before, we try to do what we can to make the moment feel not quite as hectic and overwhelming as it could be given the level of activity. It's a landmark date, no doubt, and we have to be prepared to make whatever decisions may present themselves at the same time. We try not to get too high or too low and make it a bigger deal than it otherwise would be.

MLB.com: You have worked for only one team during your decade in the game. What is it about this franchise that keeps people here for extended periods?

Forman: I think that starts with ownership. Mr. Dolan has afforded us the stability and continuity that we have had that allows us to create the culture and environment that we want to create. There have been executives, coaches, scouts who have left the organization for other leadership opportunities, but many people across the organization have made a commitment to being here. They have passed on the opportunity to pursue different things elsewhere. The culture and environment that we've created is one that people are proud of, they're invested in, continue to shape and create. While we're thrilled about people getting great opportunities for them, we're also thrilled when people decide to be committed to being here.

MLB.com: Prior to the 2020 season, you were quoted as saying that because of the game's economics and your market size, your front office has to do things a little different than other teams. Is that frustrating or in some way liberating?

Forman: The reality is what it is. We can't change it, so we never for one second use the systemic realities as an excuse or an impediment. In a number of respects, it allows us to focus our energy on what we have to do to be the best we can be.

MLB.com: Chris Antonetti has said that you will be a big league GM someday. How important is that to you?

Forman: Throughout my career, I have always focused on keeping my feet where they are. The things that are most fulfilling to me, as I mentioned, are solving complicated challenges with people who are passionate about what they're doing and that I care deeply for. I really appreciate so much that I've had a chance to do that here throughout my career.