Toronto Blue Jays president and chief-executive-officer will do what he does best.
Paul Beeston will stand in front of a large gathering at the third annual Western Mustangs Scholarship Breakfast Tuesday morning, deliver an enjoyable, insightful address because that's what Beeston is, a bright, funny guy who understands the ins and outs of professional sports and what it takes to be successful. He's proven it enough times.
He will touch on student athletics and their importance to how it all plays out in the real world and how the lessons learned translate into what happens in professional sports.
Then he'll take questions.
"And people will want to know who's going to catch? Who's going to make the team? Who's going to the bullpen," Beeston said. "I found this when I used to talk to (chartered accountants.) You talk about all sorts of stuff . . . accounting, the finances, and the first question you get is 'when are you going to trade for so-and-so.' No one cares about all that other s---- that's going on. They are just fans."
Beeston is a graduate of Huron University College at Western. He was the first Blue Jay employee and has held a number of positions including a stint as president of Major League Baseball.
Beeston took over his current role from Paul Godfrey on an interim basis in 2008 with a goal to identifying a successor.
But he was pressured to stay and in 2009 signed a three-year contract to remain president of the club and Rogers Centre.
Beeston's goal isn't just working to turn the Jays into a winning team. He has to restore a brand that has fallen on hard times with the trading of top players and a dwindling fan base.
Beeston believes the Jays can return to the days when the Jays challenged for division titles, won World Series and packed Rogers Centre. He's adamant about changing the culture and infrastructure that have all contributed to the tough years.
"But it's going to take time," he said. "We have to fix our product before we can actually draw the people as in the old days. We're going to be a young team, so we have to put the onus on us being aggressive, working hard every single game and let the fans watch this team grow."
That also means spending money wisely.
Beeston says winning is the cure-all for just about everything. The Jays have some outstanding young players in their lineup, but getting free agents to sign in Toronto is difficult and that means building from within.
"Regrettably, we aren't going to be able to go out and spend the dollars that are going to bring the players we want. We're not in the market for the 'A' players right now because they won't come here. The mobility of those free agents has been time-tested and goes to the best teams."
A good sign is the recent signing of Cuban Adeinis Hechavarria. The 21-year-old could have gone to a number of teams. Ultimately, though, Beeston wants to rebuild the Jays' farm system.
"We needed to go and fix up our farm system so we hired 35 scouts. We've had to fix up our development so we're looking at adding another team. We're starting to scout worldwide again. We've put ourselves in a position where we grow internally and use the internal growth to actually augment through trades and free agency but that takes time. We don't want to just be competitive. We want to be a team that wins.
"We want to go back to being the best place to work whether it's the front office or the players. We want players to want to come here, want scouts to want to work here, development people to want to work here. We want to be known as a place that treats people well."
The breakfast is Tuesday at 7 a.m. at the Best Western Lamplighter. Tickets are $75 a person or a table of 10 for $700. For more information, contact Holly Gati at hgati@uwo.ca or tickets can be ordered at www.westernconnect.ca/mustangs_breakfast.
