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Commentary: McKeon leaves Marlins his way

By Dave George

 

Palm Beach Post Staff Columnist

 

Monday, October 03, 2005

 

MIAMI GARDENS ? The greatness of Jack McKeon isn't in his grayness.

 

Sentimental fans want to make it that way, looking back at the Florida Marlins' 2003 World Series championship as some kind of glorious lifetime achievement award for a baseball manager who was making his postseason debut at 72.

 

There is so much more to this ballpark ballad, though, than some wrinkled warrior finding celebrity status in the retirement village of South Florida, a halo of cigar smoke above his head.

 

McKeon is still vital, a force of brazen, basic nature in a game too easily given to chemical enhancements and contractual motivations. He demands respect, as proved by the benching of Juan Encarnacion for dragging in just one hour prior to the final regular-season game. McKeon savors every second at the stadium, even showing up at the office on Christmas years ago when he was general manager of the San Diego Padres.

 

And when the time came Sunday to step down as Marlins manager, a decision that team owner Jeffrey Loria said was McKeon's alone, he did it strictly his way.

 

Walking across the field to shake hands with Atlanta manager Bobby Cox at the conclusion of a stirring, 10-inning win over the Braves, McKeon gave his only hint to a farewell crowd of 29,214 that he wouldn't be back next season. Not until 45 minutes later did he assemble reporters in a side room, away from the team, to put it on record. The players got the news in a more personal way, before the game, with hugs and handshakes eye-to-eye and an ovation from the whole group.

 

"Whoever wants to give another chance to an old guy of 75, I'll be glad to listen," said McKeon, who hits that numerical landmark Nov. 23. "I'm not 75, though, I tell you. I may be 50 now, and I probably was 45 when I got here, but I'm ready to go."

 

Why did it end here after a world title and three consecutive winning seasons? That's a baseball answer, the kind that hinges on intuition, like shuffling the lineup or trading a star.

 

McKeon and the Marlins brass simply recognized that this Marlins team should be more productive than 83-79 two years in a row, given the talent and the payroll. Maybe somebody else can get more out of it, or maybe not. The point is that McKeon came in on the highest note imaginable, a World Series win over the New York Yankees, and everything since has been bland and lifeless in comparison.

 

Loria has talked McKeon into wearing the title of special adviser and jokingly suggested that the two would begin consulting today at 8 a.m. at the Marlins offices. More than likely McKeon will be out on the tractor this week at his home in Elon, N.C., mowing endless laps around 12 acres of quiet backcountry.

 

"I probably need to buy him some more land so he'll have something else to do," said Carol McKeon, who will celebrate 51 years of marriage to Jack later this month. "It's going to be hard for him. I'm happy and I'm sad."

 

It's much the same, no doubt, for Florida's players as they head into the off-season. This was supposed to be a busy October, winning a wild-card playoff spot and grabbing for the same momentum that carried the franchise to championships in 1997 and 2003. There were no magic buttons to push this time, however, and some players resented being pushed at all.

 

Pitcher A.J. Burnett was told to leave the team last week after telling reporters that the team played and coached "scared." Young slugger Miguel Cabrera got grumpy at the end, too, especially after he was benched for one game by McKeon for breaking team rules about reporting on time and such.

 

On the other hand, Cy Young Award candidate Dontrelle Willis called McKeon "a great baseball mind" and thanked the manager for helping him make the transition from rookie to star, sometimes with a quiet word of encouragement and sometimes with a kick in the pants.

 

"Hey, there's always going to be 15 that like you and 10 that don't like you," said McKeon, who once traded away his son-in-law to make a deal work in San Diego. "Big deal.

 

"If I've offended anybody or hurt their feelings, it wasn't on purpose. I'm used to winning.

 

"You've got this new breed, you know. You see players who make a bad play in the field and you've got to correct them, but they don't want that. They want you to pat them on the back."

 

Josh Beckett, Most Valuable Player of the 2003 World Series, has seen every side of McKeon. All Marlins fans remember is his making a gutsy decision in Game 6 at Yankee Stadium, choosing Beckett on less-than-his-usual rest to try to close out the series, rather than waiting to use Florida's ace in a potential Game 7. Turned out to be exactly the right call, with Beckett pitching a five-hit shutout.

 

Just as significant to me, at least in making that moment possible, was a profane lecture Beckett got in September of that same year.

 

The kid was leading Philadelphia in a game the Marlins needed badly to keep their wild-card hopes going. Picking at the corners of the plate, mixing in curveballs, getting behind in the count, Beckett helped the Phillies mount a comeback try with a four-run rally in the eighth inning. McKeon could have yanked him. Probably should have, too. Instead, he pounded his way to the mound and told Beckett to get mean, to go right after batters with his fastball, to stop, well, let's just say, fooling around. The Marlins won the game, sure, but it was the postseason that McKeon had on his mind.

 

"Jack was right," Beckett said. "He should have taken me over his knee and spanked me."

 

Those are the stories that followed this manager around from Kansas City to Oakland to San Diego, Cincinnati and eventually Florida. He had a knack for waking teams up, but eventually, with a string of championships, professional teams begin to hit the snooze button.

 

McKeon, the winningest manager in Marlins history, doesn't need that. He likes having fun, telling AARP jokes on himself, recalling his days of working for baseball mavericks Charlie Finley and Marge Schott.

 

There will never be another ride like this one, with McKeon pounding on the bongo drums in stadium party tents after Marlins playoff victories, and he probably knows that. McKeon and South Florida were meant for each other.

 

Just don't picture him hobbling off into the sunset. Sunday's crazy comeback victory, a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, and a sweep of the division-winning Braves, was the perfect send-off.

 

And the perfect spark of energy should some other not-quite-there team choose, against all chronological logic, to light McKeon's fire once more.

 

 

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Really great article. It's nice to see that as much as McKeon meant to this franchise, it could be said that his time here meant even more to Jack.

"Jack was right," Beckett said. "He should have taken me over his knee and spanked me."

 

Really enjoying quotes from Josh lately.

:notworthy

 

Jack earned his love

  • Author

I'm still a bit baffled as to why they didn't announce Jack's retirement before the final game to allow the fans to give him a proper send off.

 

Was it Jack who wanted it to be discreet? Or were other things going on behind the scenes?

 

At any rate I hope we get the chance to cheer him on sometime next season.

At any rate I hope we get the chance to cheer him on sometime next season.

 

I'd like to see him throw out the first pitch on Opening Day personally.

  • Author

At any rate I hope we get the chance to cheer him on sometime next season.

 

I'd like to see him throw out the first pitch on Opening Day personally.

:thumbup

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