Alex Anthopoulos left the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday, the same day he was named the Executive of the Year by his peers.

Anthopoulos, who spent six seasons with the Blue Jays, rejected an offer to remain in what might have been a diminished role under new team president Mark Shapiro.

"I don't know that I've had to make a harder decision in my life," Anthopoulos said. "I just didn't feel like this was a right fit for me going forward."

Anthopoulos declined to say whether Shapiro might have wanted more of a say in baseball operations than Paul Beeston, the outgoing president.