Howard Fox
Sep 4, 1920 (Emporia, VA) – Jun 28, 2011 · died at 90
General manager for the Twins (1985–1985).
Across the full 1-season sample, the measured profile stands out most for avoidance of dead payroll (100th percentile), and cost per win (99th percentile). The clearest contrast is drafted-player surplus (21st percentile): drafted players have created less surplus value than for most peers. Because the sample covers fewer than five seasons, those comparisons are descriptive rather than stable.
1 seasons with salary-era data across 1 stint. All figures are franchise-level outcomes during the tenure, not solely attributable to one executive.
0 pennants · 0 playoff appearances · 77–85 (0.475)
Overview
| Team | Role | Year | Pay $M |
Rel Pay |
Surp $M |
Surp WAR |
Dead % |
Cheap $M |
Draft $M |
Trd $M |
Int'l $M |
$ / WAR |
WAR | Depth | Dead WAR |
HG | Trade | Net/ Trd |
FA | R5 | RFA | PPA | CPA | WAB | TAB | W-L% | PO | Pen | WS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Twins |
GM | 1985 77–85 | $5 | 55 | +2 | +9.1 | 11% | +3 | +2 | +1 | +0 | $0.2M | 32.8 | 8.0 | -1.4 | +1.4 | +8.6 | +1.72 | +0.0 | +0.0 | 1.09 | 0.14 | +2.6 | +5.8 | 0.475 | ||||
| Career total (1985+ data) | $5 | 55 | +2 | +9.1 | 11% | +3 | +2 | +1 | +0 | $0.2M | 32.8 | 8.0 | -1.4 | +1.4 | +8.6 | +1.72 | +0.0 | +0.0 | – | 1.09 | 0.14 | +2.6 | +5.8 | 0.475 | – | – | – | ||
Roster Construction
Build channels — net fWAR
Acquired minus surrendered / signed minus walked.
Trades
Trades made — 5 deals credited to Howard Fox, best expected value first; surplus is realized value in $M
WSN · Murray Cook
+$0.0M
MIN · Howard Fox
+$0.0M
BAL · Hank Peters
+$0.8M
MIN · Howard Fox
−$0.8M
CHW · Roland Hemond
+$21.6M
MIN · Howard Fox
−$21.6M
MIN · Howard Fox
+$0.8M
BOS · Lou Gorman
−$0.8M
MIN · Howard Fox
+$122.4M
CLE · Phil Seghi
−$122.4M
Players acquired — 9 players, by realized fWAR for the franchise (scroll for more)
| Player | Pos | Team | How | Year | Szns | fWAR | WAR/yr | RFA | PPA | CPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bert Blyleven | P | MIN |
Trade | 1985 | 4 | +8.3 | +2.1 | – | – | – |
| Lenny Webster | C | MIN |
Draft | 1985 | 3 | +0.9 | +0.3 | – | – | – |
| Paul Abbott | P | MIN |
Draft | 1985 | 2 | +0.5 | +0.2 | – | – | – |
| Steve Howe | P | MIN |
Trade | 1985 | 1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | – | 0.3% | 0.03% |
| Dennis Burtt | P | MIN |
Trade | 1985 | 1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | – | – | – |
| Mike Stenhouse | OF | MIN |
Trade | 1985 | 1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | – | – | – |
| Mark Brown | P | MIN |
Trade | 1985 | – | -0.0 | – | – | – | – |
| Álvaro Espinoza | SS | MIN |
Trade | 1985 | 1 | -0.3 | -0.3 | – | – | – |
| Tom Klawitter | P | MIN |
Trade | 1985 | – | -0.4 | – | – | – | – |
Trade-side columns: RFA is playoff-readiness percentage points added to the future roster foundation. It grades the franchise's entire side of a trade, so the same score repeats for every player acquired in that package. PPA/CPA remain player-level arrival-year probability points.
WAB = wins above what the team's payroll predicted (resource-controlled). WAR surplus = era-neutral value (WAR minus payroll in win-equivalents). Roster surplus $M = dollar value of WAR over cost. Build channels (realized fWAR): HG = home-grown via amateur draft / international signing; Trade = acquired minus surrendered (incl. purchases/waivers); FA = signed minus walked; R5 = Rule-5 / minor-league-draft pickups. Credit follows the acquisition year — home-grown to the regime at the player's draft/signing (not whoever was in the chair when he peaked), trade/FA/R5 to the GM who made the move. Players acquired as prospects before debuting (e.g. Smoltz, Bagwell; Rule-5 picks like Uggla) are counted as trade/R5, not home-grown. All are franchise-level outcomes during the stint, not solely attributable to one executive.