Jon Daniels became the eighth General Manager in Texas club history when he was promoted to the position on October 4, 2005.

The Rangers remarkable run to the 2010 World Series represented the culmination of a dramatic five-year period in which the club completely overhauled its farm system and developed an organizational philosophy based on strong scouting and player development.

That accomplishment resulted in Daniels being selected as Baseball America’s 2010 Major League Executive of the Year. He is just the second Rangers executive to ever earn the award following GM Doug Melvin in 1998.

Daniels and his staff spent a busy off-season prior to 2010, signing a trio of free agents, pitchers Colby Lewis and Darren Oliver and outfielder-DH Vladimir Guerrero that played major roles in the club’s success. A pair of trades just before the season added key reserves in catcher Matt Treanor and infielder Andres Blanco.

The Rangers were as aggressive in making in-season moves as any club in the majors with the acquisitions of pitcher Cliff Lee, catcher Bengie Molina, infielders Jorge Cantu and Cristain Guzman, and outfielder Jeff Francoeur.

The strength and depth of the Texas farm system again paid dividends in 2010 as pitchers Michael Kirkman and Alexi Ogando, the latter playing in the United States for the first time since 2004, and first baseman Mitch Moreland played important roles while seeing their first major league action. Several other players from the Rangers farm system were key parts of the in-season deals of 2010.

Those additions joined a talented nucleus of young players acquired through either trades of draft selections on Daniels’ watch who arrived on the scene in 2009, including Elvis Andrus, Julio Borbon, A.L. Rookie of the Year Neftali Feliz, Derek Holland, and Tommy Hunter. Other major contributors in the team success were acquired by Daniels as well including 2010 A.L. Most Valuable Player Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Matt Harrison, and David Murphy.

The Rangers are one of just four clubs, the only American League team, to feature increased win totals in each of the last three years with a pair of second place finishes in 2008 and 2009 before the 2010 A.L. Championship. That success has come for the large part with strong player development and scouting. The Rangers were selected as having the number one minor league organization in baseball in 2009 rankings by both Baseball America and ESPN.com.

In January 2010, ESPN.com once again gave the Rangers’ farm system the top ranking while Baseball America’s number two ranking made Texas just the fourth organization in a ten-year span to earn a top two spot on the BA list in consecutive seasons. In 2008, the Rangers made the largest one-year jump in the history of Baseball America’s rankings, improving to fourth after being rated 28th prior to 2007.Under Daniels’ leadership, the organization has opened a new academy in the Dominican Republic, placed a greater emphasis on international scouting, added to the player development, amateur, and professional scouting staffs, and stabilized the leadership in each department. The emphasis has been reinforced by the signing of several highly-touted players in Latin America.

The success in amateur scouting was evidenced by Baseball America rating the Rangers as having the major leagues’ best draft in 2008 after placing second in 2007.Daniels joined the Texas organization in 2002 as a baseball operations assistant. He was promoted to Director of Baseball Operations in October 2003 and Assistant General Manager in July 2004.As assistant general manager, he was responsible for negotiating free agent, arbitration and pre-arbitration contracts as well as payroll, roster and budget management.

Daniels negotiated the multi-year contracts signed by Hank Blalock, Michael Young, and Francisco Cordero in 2004. His responsibilities also included working with the organization’s professional and international scouting operations, and assisting then-General Manager John Hart on all player acquisitions.He spent the 2001 season working for the Colorado Rockies’ Baseball Operations Department. At the time of his appointment as Rangers’ General Manager, Daniels was 28 years, 41 days old, the youngest general manager in Major League Baseball history.

A 1999 graduate of Cornell University in upstate New York, Jon earned his degree in applied economics and management. He is a native of New York City.Jon and his wife, Robyn, were married in November 2003. The couple resides in Southlake with their son, Lincoln (4) and daughter, Harper (2).