The Making of a President

Still, it is Kasten's experience during his first four years with the Braves -- when the team lost an average of 98 games and finished last three times -- that would be most applicable to his new situation with the Nationals. Washington's baseball team appears headed for a difficult season, and its farm system is ranked among the worst in the game.

Spending huge money on free agents, Kasten said, "takes yourself farther from your goal, not closer."

Not surprisingly, the triumvirate of Kasten, Schuerholz and Manager Bobby Cox became the model for what the power structure in a baseball franchise should look like. Each knew the limits of his role, but partly because of Kasten's background as a general manager, the open lines of communication were often used by the team president to challenge the GM's ideas.

"Don't forget I did 10 years as a GM. I speak their language. I'm sympathetic to the challenges they face," Kasten said. "I think all my GMs would tell you that. . . . None of them would try to [b.s.] me. They're not built that way. But it would be a waste of time trying to [b.s.] me."

Schuerholz said: "I suppose [Kasten's influence] could be intimidating or problematic for somebody who doesn't have confidence in their ability and their knowledge and their work ethic. But if you don't lack those traits, then it's a vibrant, energized environment to be around."

Although Nationals GM Jim Bowden, whose job status will be immediately up for consideration once a new owner is named, is the opposite of Schuerholz in terms of personality -- Bowden is glib and cocky -- Kasten insists there is no template for a Kasten GM. Kasten would not discuss Bowden, or the Nationals' front office, but said he considers Bowden a friend.

Commissioner Material

As the Braves' reputation as a model organization grew, so, too, did Kasten's influence in baseball's highest power circles. In 1994, he was offered the job of chief negotiator for MLB during its labor negotiations, but turned it down. However, he accepted a spot on the owners' negotiating committee, and was part of the team that dueled the union during the players' strike of 1994-95.

"I always told him he should be the commissioner" of baseball, said Marty Blake, the NBA's longtime director of scouting. "If he was commissioner, you wouldn't have any of the problems you have in baseball now. Of course, he wouldn't have too many friends among the owners. But I honestly felt he would've put his foot down and cleared all this mess up."

Kasten "had a very realistic view as to how the process unfolded in '94-95," said Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president for labor relations. "He is not someone who kids himself about what goes on in the negotiation -- which is a mistake some negotiators can make. One of Stan's strengths is evaluating whether or not there's a deal to be had."

One outgrowth of Kasten's involvement in the labor process -- he also served on the NBA's labor negotiations committee -- and in individual contract negotiations was a belief that agents were ruining sports. According to Kasten, agents have "superimposed this culture of individuality on what is the most collective of all our cultural endeavors -- team sports."

"Why," Kasten asked rhetorically, "should the most extraneous of elements, the skill of an agent, be the biggest determining factor in how much someone makes?"

David Falk, one of the most powerful agents in the NBA, said he believes Kasten's viewpoints on agents are said "mostly tongue-in-cheek." But Falk said he recalls thunderous screaming matches between him and Kasten.

"I'm very fond of Stan today -- I would consider him a good friend," said Falk, a longtime D.C. resident. "But when we were younger, he was the one guy who could get my goat."

Despite the unprecedented nature of Kasten's career achievements -- no one has run three professional teams in three different sports at the same time, and no team has ever won as many consecutive division titles as the Braves -- he believes there is still a higher plane, one that apparently originates in the nation's capital.

"I absolutely plan to accomplish bigger and better things," Kasten said. "Whatever I do, wherever I go, it needs to be more and bigger and better than anything I've done so far. I'm not coming in to come close or replicate something. I'm shooting for moving beyond that."