Sam Menzin, a Detroit Tigers assistant general manager, resigned on Thursday shortly before the team planned to fire him for improper workplace conduct. Team officials did not specify Menzin’s conduct, but The Athletic spoke to two former Tigers employees who said Menzin sent them unsolicited lewd photos.
In a response to questions about Menzin’s alleged wrongdoing, the team said in a statement: “Upon being made aware of the allegations as to Sam Menzin’s conduct, the club promptly completed an investigation. Before the club could terminate Mr. Menzin, he resigned. This type of behavior is contrary to our standards and has absolutely no place within our organization. We have a positive and safe culture for our colleagues and will continue to emphasize respect, inclusion, and professionalism.”
Danny Rosengard, a human resources official for the team whose title is “Compliance & Investigation Business Partner,” was in contact with women as recently as last week inquiring if they’d received lewd photos, according to sources.
Menzin said in a text message Friday that he was seeking a career change and moving home to New York to handle “some family issues.” He did not respond to calls and text messages seeking comment Monday.
Two women who worked for the Tigers told The Athletic that Menzin, 34, sent them photos of his genitals via Snapchat, an app where images are viewed and then auto-deleted. Both women said they received unsolicited lewd photos from Menzin on several occasions, dating back to at least 2017. A third woman who works in baseball but not for the Tigers said that around 2018-19 she also received unsolicited photos from Menzin via Snapchat, including “side profiles” of his genitals.
The Athletic spoke to individuals who those three women told about receiving the photos shortly after they said it happened, and they relayed the substance of those conversations.
One of the women who worked for the Tigers, when asked why Menzin’s alleged wrongdoing had not come to light earlier, responded: “It’s like no one says anything because who is going to believe them when they say Sam Menzin did this? It’s not like a bat boy or security guard. It’s Sam Menzin.” She added that very few women worked in the front office, and “it always felt like saying something wasn’t an option, because who is going to believe you and do anything about it? It’s just this overall sense that (reporting something) wasn’t an option.”
Menzin was with the Tigers for 13 years and rose from the low rungs of the front office to assistant general manager. A former pitcher at Swarthmore College, Menzin interned with the New York Mets and Turner-Gary Sports before beginning his career with the Tigers in 2012 as a baseball operations intern. Menzin was promoted to analyst and coordinator in baseball operations under former general manager Dave Dombrowski and was seen as an integral part of the Tigers’ modernization of their department and adoption of analytics. He became the team’s director of baseball operations and pro scouting in 2015. In 2019, he was on The Athletic’s “35 under 35” list of up-and-comers in baseball.
By 2021, Menzin was promoted to assistant general manager and helped oversee facility upgrades and often traveled with the team. In 2022, the Tigers hired Scott Harris as president of baseball operations, and Menzin remained as an assistant GM, serving under his third different lead executive.
In 2023, Menzin was part of Major League Baseball’s annual Take The Field program, a two-day event held at the Winter Meetings that helps women who are in college or recent graduates get positions in MLB. Menzin told MLB.com he had attended all six Take the Field events.
“There are so many people who are eager to get into baseball, and they just don’t know how,” Menzin told MLB.com. “This is a great way for them to get their foot in the door, meet people, network. I keep in touch with people from Take the Field from years past. They’ll email every six months, every 12 months, to keep in touch.”
Menzin remained with the Tigers throughout this year’s spring training and into the team’s opening road trip this season. He worked a full day Thursday, the day before the Tigers’ home opener at Comerica Park, and interacted with other employees as usual, sources said. By Thursday evening, The Athletic reported Menzin had resigned.
(Photo courtesy of the Detroit Tigers)