Posted October 3, 200519 yr MIAMI -- Cigar-smoking, story-telling Jack McKeon defied the aging process to guide the Marlins through their most successful three-year stretch in franchise history. Energetic at age 74, McKeon did his part in turning a club with a history of losing into a World Series champion in 2003, followed up by two straight winning seasons. On Sunday, McKeon made official what many close to him saw coming for weeks. McKeon announced his retirement as manager of the Marlins. Although he is stepping away from the dugout, the savvy skipper will remain in the organization as a special advisor to team owner Jeffrey Loria. The announcement came shortly after the Marlins rallied to a 7-6 win over the Braves in 10 innings, completing Florida's second straight 83-79 season. "I've been thinking over the last couple of months how blessed I have been to be in this game over 50-plus years, and to have a family that supported me," McKeon said. "I promised them last year that this would be my last year. I'm honoring that request." At the news conference, Loria praised McKeon for doing his part in making the Marlins a winning organization. "Jack, I want to thank you for all you have done for baseball in South Florida," Loria said. "You've been a winner everywhere you've gone. I'm glad you decided to win a championship with us and all of South Florida. We all look forward to the next chapter. ... Jack's many years of front-office experience will complement what I consider to be one of the best baseball operations in all the game." Lured out of retirement on May 11, 2003, McKeon reversed the fortunes of the Marlins, an organization that until that year had one winning season -- their 1997 World Series championship squad. Inheriting a team from Jeff Torborg that was 16-22, the 2003 Marlins "shocked the world" (a players' battle cry) by winning the Wild Card and ultimately the World Series. During that improbable run, McKeon made many bold moves that panned out, including batting then 20-year-old Miguel Cabrera in the cleanup spot in the World Series. And in the decisive Game 6, McKeon rolled the dice by going with Josh Beckett on three days' rest. Beckett responded by tossing a complete-game shutout, as the Marlins prevailed, 2-0, at Yankee Stadium. "I'm going to miss him," Beckett said. "No doubt about it. It's a tough business, though. You've got to deal with the good times and the bad. He's dealt with them, and it's time for him to move on to another venture." Reflecting on that Game 6 performance, Beckett noted: "That put me on the map, for sure." Named the National League Manager of the Year in 2003 for the second time in his career, McKeon challenged that squad to live up to its potential. Little did anyone know that the season would finish with champagne bottles bursting at Yankee Stadium. As exhilarating as 2003 was for the Marlins, the club and its supporters felt the 2005 squad could repeat the magic of two years ago. It didn't happen. Florida was unable to meet postseason expectations. A late-season rash of injuries crippled the roster, and when healthy, the team was marred by inconsistencies. In the up-and-down year, there was some finger-pointing from within the clubhouse, leading to several players questioning some of the manager's moves. "My family -- they live and die every game," McKeon said. "When we lose a game, I don't even want to call them at home, because it is so depressing. They are down, they're beat up. If any of you guys write something they don't like, it beats them up. I don't want them to go through that any more." Despite some internal strife, the Marlins still found themselves 11 games over .500 and leading the Wild Card race on Sept. 13. From that point, the squad went into a tailspin, largely with a number of impact players hobbled by injuries. For this year's slide, McKeon accepts his share of the blame. "I also said when I came here, if I didn't have as much fun, I would get out of it," McKeon said. "I didn't have as much fun as I'd liked. I made my decision almost two months ago that this would be it. It had nothing to do with our season this year. We didn't live up to our expectations. But we are all responsible -- me, the coaches. It's our responsibility to get these guys to play better. We didn't do it. We didn't succeed. Since I'm the leader, I'll take full responsibility for the year we had. We just didn't get the job done. "I'm sorry we had to let Jeffrey and all of our good fans down. But this is what happens in baseball. It evolves from year to year. It isn't automatically that easy that you can get a few players and you're going to win it all. It's not that easy." Throughout the organization, there was a belief that had the team not been ravaged by injuries, it would have seriously challenged until the end of the season. Despite what went wrong, a great deal went right for Florida in 2005. McKeon became the seventh active manager to win 1,000 career games at the Major League level when the Marlins beat the Mets, 5-4, on Sept. 3. Dontrelle Willis became the club's first 20-game winner and emerged as a Cy Young Award candidate. Closer Todd Jones is a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year, while Cabrera and Carlos Delgado established strong offensive seasons. With a 241-207 record as Marlins manager, McKeon is the franchise's all-time wins leader, and overall, he is 1,011-940 as a big league manager. As a manager, McKeon enjoyed a lengthy, successful tenure managing in the Minor Leagues, where he was 1,146-1,123. A catcher in his playing days, McKeon began his managing career in 1955 with Fayetteville. In 1973, he got his first big league managing opportunity, directing the Royals. From 1977-78, McKeon managed the A's under flamboyant owner Charlie Finley. From 1988-90, he managed the Padres. Prior to joining the Marlins, McKeon was the skipper of the Reds from 1997-2000. With more than 50 years in professional baseball, McKeon developed a keen eye for talent. Never afraid to pull the trigger on a deal, McKeon earned the nickname "Trader Jack" in his days as vice president of baseball operations for the Padres from 1980-90. When the Marlins called in 2003, McKeon returned to the dugout at age 72. He became the oldest manager or coach in the four major professional team sports -- MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL -- to direct his team to a championship. "I never worked for a better owner in baseball," McKeon said of Loria. "I've worked for a few -- Charlie Finley, Ted Turner, Ray Kroc, Ewing Kaufman, Marge Schott. Jeffrey has been the best owner I've ever worked for. He let you do your job. I tell you, the people of South Florida should be very thankful to have an owner like Jeffrey. He has such a tremendous desire to win. He has said that so many times. He's one owner who has talked the talk and walked the walk. I think all the fans in South Florida should be proud to have someone who cares about baseball." McKeon is the third oldest manager in Major League history, behind Hall of Famers Connie Mack (88) and Casey Stengel (75). While his new role is special advisor to Loria, McKeon hasn't ruled out managing again. Constantly reminding people that age is just a number, McKeon may some day entertain getting back into the dugout. "I feel great, and I'm not tired of what I'm doing," McKeon said. "I'm not going to solicit anything. If someone calls, like Jeffrey did, I'll listen." For now, McKeon is ready to return to his home in Elon, N.C., with his wife, Carol. In late November, he turns 75, and he expects to relax riding his tractor, while smoking a half dozen Padron cigars a day. "I want to thank Jeffrey for giving me the opportunity," McKeon said. "He's the only one who had the guts to give an old senior citizen a chance. And it took a lot of guts. He also made it possible to live my dream out of some day going to the World Series, and winning it. South Florida ought to be proud of it." http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...t=.jsp&c_id=fla
October 3, 200519 yr "I'm going to miss him," Beckett said. "No doubt about it. It's a tough business, though. You've got to deal with the good times and the bad. He's dealt with them, and it's time for him to move on to another venture." Reflecting on that Game 6 performance, Beckett noted: "That put me on the map, for sure." McKeon had faith in Beckett, almost to a fault, it's good to see that there was mutual respect.
October 3, 200519 yr Jack thanks for everything you have done for this organization, you will be missed and never forgotten.......
October 3, 200519 yr I'm seriously kind of bummed he will be gone the more and more I think about it. Great article though.
October 3, 200519 yr You shouldn't be bummed. There is no denying what Jack has done for this organization, but younger blood is needed to guide this franchise.
October 3, 200519 yr What Jack has done for this franchise is unbelievable. Not just Beckett, he put this whole team on the map. I feel bummed about it too even though I think it's the right time for this to happen. Great article.
October 3, 200519 yr Jack will be missed. He had his own flair. He helped make baseball in So Fla exciting to watch again. If only he could have surrounded himself with a few younger coaches who could have kept a more upbeat tempo in the clubhouse. But he wanted to go with an older crowd and that gave him a level of comfort. In the end though, a mix of the wise and old, and young and energetic would have been more successful.
October 3, 200519 yr PB, They tried but were unsuccessful. They wanted an experienced, reputable Latino bench coach (Cookie Rojas). FYI, Hill, Robinson and Cox were all holdovers and not McKeon coaches.
October 3, 200519 yr I would like to thank Jack for all that he has done for the Marlins , i think we needed to make a change but i have to admit i gained more respect for Mckeon over the past 3 weeks in the way he handled his players completely going in the tank than i had for him at the begining of the season . He is a good man , a good manager who really at this point doesnt need to put up with the egos on this team . Best of luck Jack!!!
October 3, 200519 yr PB, They tried but were unsuccessful. They wanted an experienced, reputable Latino bench coach (Cookie Rojas). FYI, Hill, Robinson and Cox were all holdovers and not McKeon coaches. From what I understand, McKeon had free reign to select his own staff this year. McKeon elected to keep Robinson and Cox, and to hire Dunlop. BTW, I like Cookie, don't get me wrong, but he isn't exactly young and energetic. :lol
October 3, 200519 yr I'll admit it - I teared up a little bit when Jack confirmed it with Mini on the post-game interview - he said "I'm gonna miss (these fans)". It's time for change - Fredi's the one IMO.
October 3, 200519 yr PB, They tried but were unsuccessful. They wanted an experienced, reputable Latino bench coach (Cookie Rojas). FYI, Hill, Robinson and Cox were all holdovers and not McKeon coaches. From what I understand, McKeon had free reign to select his own staff this year. McKeon elected to keep Robinson and Cox, and to hire Dunlop. BTW, I like Cookie, don't get me wrong, but he isn't exactly young and energetic. :lol Yeah, but before Dunlop, McKeon wanted Girardi or Bowa, both declined to be the bench coach...
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