Pat Gillick confirms interest in Cubs

Updated: July 25, 2011 4:59PM

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Pat Gillick confirmed a Sun-Times
report that he might be interested in joining the Cubs’ front office in the future, but the executive who will be inducted into the
National Baseball Hall of Fame today knocked down a WSCR-AM (670) report that he already had spoken with team owner Tom Ricketts.

‘‘Somebody put some kind of a story out that I had spoken to the Cubs, and that’s not true at all,’’ Gillick said during a pre-
induction ceremony Saturday with fellow inductees Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven at the Clark Sports Center. ‘‘I don’t know Mr. Ricketts. I’ve never even met him.’’

And Gillick stressed that he only would be interested in a position higher than general manager, making sure that he threw his support behind current GM Jim Hendry.

‘‘If something did come down the pike .  .  . if I had an opportu-
nity to be a president, I would consider it,’’ said Gillick, a longtime GM who now serves as a
senior adviser to Philadelphia Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. ‘‘Any situation that was a lateral move, I wouldn’t do it. I’m happy with the Phillies. I wouldn’t leave them to make a lateral move.’’

Though Ricketts has insisted he doesn’t need a traditional baseball man to be his team president, others in baseball openly have questioned why the Cubs continue to keep former Tribune Co. corporate attorney Crane Kenney in such a key position.

Gillick went out of his way
Saturday to support Hendry.

‘‘I think [Henry] is doing a good job,’’ Gillick said. ‘‘They’ve had a lot of injuries over there. I’ve
always found Jim to be very forthright, very much to the point.’’

Gillick has been a GM for the Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners and Phillies. His first big trade with the Phillies was hooking up with the White Sox on the Aaron Rowand-Jim Thome deal after the 2005 season.

Gillick is the 32nd executive elected to the Hall and the first GM since George Weiss in 1971.

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