"James Goodwin Bowden IV" is a baseball analyst and insider for ESPN. He writes a blog for ESPN.com titled "[http://espn.go.com/blog/the-gms-office The GM's Office]" and is a co-host of SiriusXM's "Inside Pitch" on MLB Network Radio. He used ot be a host and co-host on Fox Sports Radio, a baseball analyst for FoxSports.com and a Baseball Insider for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels for Fox Sports West. He has held positions of Senior Vice President and General Manager for both the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals. On October 16, 1992 he became the youngest general manager in baseball history. He was named MLB Executive of the Year by Baseball America in 1999. Bowden's teams finished in first place in 1994, 1995, and 1999. Bowden has also worked in television for ESPN and Fox Sports West as well as local television and radio stations in both Cincinnati and Washington, D.C..

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The first thing I did when I came in last November was study all of the reports from all of our scouts, ... Dana, by far, stood out among everyone as a premier evaluator. He has a tremendous ability to evaluate amateurs, and a tremendous ability to evaluate pitchers in general.

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Brian continues to be one of the best defensive catchers in the game, shutting the running game down. Offensively, his on-base percentage and slugging percentage continue to improve every single year. His strikeouts continue to be reduced every year.

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At a certain point, we have to walk the talk. How many meetings can you have? This isn't a corporation. This is baseball. I want to see the talking on the field.

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I felt it was very important that this franchise retain him and not lose him. I spoke very strongly on his behalf. For the new owner's sake, Dana was an important asset that they needed. With the approval of the Commissioner's office, we agreed to terms with Dana.

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After studying his four years on the job, I came to the conclusion that Dana is one of the brightest young evaluators in the game.

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You have to look at it from a global perspective. As we advance baseball in other countries and some day end up with a real World Series, this is a great step in that direction. Hopefully it's a great step long-term from a revenue perspective for our industry.

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He's not a player I'd like to have to compete on the free agent market for, because he's so special. So I think this is a deal that needed to be done. I don't think it could have waited.

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[Pitching coach] Randy St. Claire taught him a changeup, which was a phenomenal pitch.

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I believe that Dana Brown is one of the best young amateur talent evaluators, especially when it comes to pitching, in Major League Baseball.

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