“Greg Daniels came to me sitting on set one day” - Brian Baumgartner reveals inspiration for naming 'The Office' character after Ex-Dodgers GM

"The Office" star Brian Baumgartner has spilled the beans on whether his hit TV show character Kevin Malone was named after a former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager.

Malone was hired by the Dodgers on Sept. 11, 1998, and he had a two-and-a-half-year stint with the franchise. He referred to himself as the "new sheriff in town" after joining the Los Angeles outfit.

While speaking on the "Foul Territory" podcast on Tuesday, Baumgartner spoke about the origins of his character name on "The Office," which was filmed for nine seasons from 2005 to 2013:

"The name when the script was written, this is true, was Kevin. And The Office was based on a British version of the show. That character's name was Keith. I don't remember if he had a last name.

"But my character's name was Kevin and there was Angela, Phyllis, Stanley, and there was, you know, Jim. And I can't remember how far it extended, but I did not have a last name in the pilot episode of the script.

"And Greg Daniels came to me, sitting on set one day, and was like 'Okay, hopefully, this show's gonna go more than just this one episode. We need a last name, what do you got?' And I just said, Malone."

Baumgartner went into detail, explaining that it was not a conscious decision:

"And it was not like a conscious, like, I'm going to take that gentleman's name. But I was a Dodgers fan and so I was aware. I believe the recesses of my brain thinking 'Kevin Malone, general manager of the Dodgers.'

"And so I said, Malone. Never thought about it again. And yeah, now I feel a little bit bad about that. Anyway, it happened. But it was not stolen. But it was from me."

Before taking up his role with the Dodgers, Malone served as an assistant general manager with the Baltimore Orioles. He was also the general manager of the then-Montreal Expos.

Is Brian Baumgartner a Dodgers fan?

The Office star Brian Baumgartner

During his recent appearance on the "Foul Territory" podcast, Brian Baumgartner revealed that he was a Dodgers fan. He was spotted cheering for the team in May last year. However, there is some question as to whether he continues to support the franchise. His choice of words, "was a Dodgers fan," is interesting, but it could be nothing.

In Aug. 2023, Brian Baumgartner was spotted rooting for the Toronto Blue Jays, since he was in Canada.

This doesn't necessarily mean he is a Blue Jays fan, he may have just been supporting the home side for that game. As a side note, Baumgartner also supports the NFL's Green Bay Packers.