Everyone in New England, if not Baseball, is familiar with the lure of the 2004 Boston Red Sox Curse-Busting World Champion team: the Bloody Sock. Cowboy Up. The Idiots.
 
But look again at that team. Dan Duquette did not get to reap the rewards of his labors, but he played an enormous role in darning those champion Sox.
 
Catcher Jason Varitek was acquired in a trade by then-General Manager Duquette.
 
Left fielder Manny Ramirez was signed as a free agent by Duquette.
 
Same with center fielder Johnny Damon- another free agent inked by Duquette.
 
The first three players off the Sox bench were Kevin Youkilis, Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mirabelli. Youk was drafted by Duquette. Cabrera was the centerpiece of the Nomar Garciaparra trade, a trade that can't happen unless Duquette drafted the six-time All Star shortstop. Mirabelli was traded for by Duquette.
 
Duquette also acquired 3/5ths of that '04 rotation by trading for Derek Lowe and Pedro Martinez and re-signing a Tim Wakefield that no one else in baseball wanted.
 
It shouldn't have been a surprise then when in November, the Baltimore Orioles hired Duquette to be their Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations.
 
"We're going to have to build the team through three ways: aggressive international scouting, top of the class player development and good pitching in the Big Leagues," Duquette assessed. "That's the formula that we're going to have to follow to get the Orioles into a consistent contending status.
 
"There are experiences from Boston that will certainly help me because we're in the AL East but to build the foundation for a winning team, we're going to have to follow the model we had in Montreal. And we're going to do that here in Baltimore. "
 
Much was made of Duquette's 10-season absence from Major League Baseball, yet the Duke had previously spent 11 years as the GM of the Montreal Expos and then the Red Sox.
 
"It depends on the time of the year," replied Duquette when asked about his daily duties as a Front Office executive. "There is the offseason when you try and recruit players and trade for your team. There are the Winter Meetings and signing season where you sign players to contracts for the coming season. That is going on now. There is Spring Training, where you put your team together and of course, there is the Regular Season where you spend a lot of time at the park following your ballclub.
 
"I don't know if I have a favorite. I kind of like them all. I like the rhythm of the season."
 
The Dalton, MA native and Amherst grad helped to build a 94-game winner out of the nanomarket Montreal Expos, the second most wins that the Expos/Nationals franchise has ever had. He then led the BoSox to consecutive playoffs for the first time in their history.
 
And while Duquette was not in Major League Baseball in October 2004, the baseball cognoscenti universally recognize the Duke's significant role in Reversing the Curse.
 
The NECBL is grateful that Duquette was involved in other ventures in 2004.  Like owning their Pittsfield franchise.
 
"I first got involved in the League when we took as group of campers from the Duquette Sports Academy up to North Adams to see the SteepleCats," Duquette remembered. "That was in the summer of 2003. We really enjoyed the game and the experience, and I could see that the talent level was high. That day I thought, 'Why don't we get a team for South County?'
 
"When the Thread City Tides became available, we were able to purchase the team. We played a year at the Sports Academy and that was so fun, having those great players there playing the games. I think my favorite part of it was when players who are now playing in the Big Leagues were playing in the Sports Academy."
 
Pittsfield- who played as the Dukes for five seasons and the Defenders for 2009- produced the 2008 NECBL MVP with first baseman Matt Adams. Adams is now one of the St. Louis Cardinals' most highly regarded prospects.
 
Yet it was the player relationships, as opposed to the trophies, that most personally fulfilled Duquette.
 
"We had Frank Herrmann on our team in 2004. Frank is now up pitching for Cleveland and when he came to Fenway, my son and I went to see Frank pitch," Duquette recalled. "That was probably the most interesting and most fulfilling part of my association there was seeing Frank- who I saw as a sophomore at Harvard in a work out- come through the Sports Academy playing for the Dukes and then playing at Fenway Park for the Indians against the Red Sox. Being able to share that with my son and with Frank, that was inspiring."
 
Besides developing players for the Big Leagues, Duquette sees a lot of value in the NECBL for college students desiring a front office position.   "I believe that working as an intern in these summer college baseball operations will help prepare people for a job in professional sports and at the minimum, they'll find out if they like the lifestyle," he advised. "I would say get an internship in the NECBL and see if you like the business, then see if you can meet some people who can help you develop your career."
 
The Pittsfield franchise was sold after 2009 and now plays as the Mystic Schooners. Although Duquette is currently knee-deep in a higher level of baseball, he remains a big proponent of the NECBL.
 
"I believe the summer college leagues in New England do a good job of developing talent for Major League teams," claimed Duquette, who carries ex-Keene Swamp Bat Jason Berken on his Active Roster. "They're a great asset to the communities in New England to be able to host these players who play in the NECBL and the Cape Cod League, and then get to see them a few years later in the Big Leagues. I think it's great for the kids, its great family entertainment and it is nice for the players to come and play against the other top players in the country and not have to travel far between venues.
 
"I loved the League. It was a great place for me to work and I enjoyed the people that I met."

 
 
About New England Collegiate Baseball League
The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states.  Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the NECBL started play in 1994 and has sent over 75 alumni to the Major Leagues.