M’s choice is Hargrove
After a painful year out of uniform, the grass has never looked greener to Mike Hargrove.
In crossing the infield at Safeco Field yesterday, on his way to a news conference announcing him as the 11th manager in Mariners history, Hargrove said that was true both literally and figuratively.
“I was struck by how green the grass was and how beautiful the ballpark is,” he said. “That goes along with everything else I’ve seen and heard about this organization. It’s a first-class place to play and a first-class place to live, with first-class people in charge.
“When you’ve got those kinds of situations, dynamic things have a chance to happen.”
The Mariners are certainly hoping for dynamic things from the 54-year-old, who takes the helm of his third team for his 14th season as a major league manager. Hargrove, who previously managed in Cleveland and Baltimore, received a three-year contract in replacing Bob Melvin, fired after a dismal 63-99 season.
“He’s got a heck of a resume as a manager and a player,” general manager Bill Bavasi said. “He’s battle-tested and has a lot of postseason experience. The recommendations came from far and wide on his behalf. People liked playing for him, they liked working for him. He is a stickler for detail and playing the game right and accountability.”
Bavasi said at the start of the managerial search that he would stick to people well-known to him or others in the organization. There is no such connection with Hargrove, whom Bavasi had never met before their first interview, but the GM kept hearing Hargrove’s name whenever he called around for recommendations.
A lengthy list was pared to a final four that included Hargrove, former Angels manager Terry Collins, former Red Sox manager Grady Little and former White Sox manager Jerry Manuel.
“We had a good list of people, quality guys, and we did know a lot of them,” Bavasi said. “But he kept coming back, and the more information we got, it just kept coming at us that this was the right guy.”
Hargrove, a 12-year major leaguer nicknamed “The Human Rain Delay” for his lengthy at-bat routines, took over a destitute Indians team as a rookie manager in 1991. Beginning in 1995, Cleveland won five consecutive division titles, a golden era keyed by a tremendous crop of offensive players that included Manny Ramirez, Albert Belle, Jim Thome and Omar Vizquel in their primes.
Hargrove’s Cleveland teams made two unsuccessful trips to the World Series, the first coming in 1995, when the Indians ended Seattle’s amazing year in the American League Championship Series.
“My first thought as we were leaving (Seattle) was, if I ever see another ‘Refuse to Lose’ sign, I would puke,” Hargrove said yesterday. “But that is indicative of the fans here that they make the opposing team feel like that.”
Despite the five consecutive titles, Hargrove, whose relationship with general manager John Hart had soured, was fired following the 1999 season. The Orioles quickly scooped him up, but he finished fourth all four years in Baltimore, never given the talent to compete in the A.L. East.
“Our club is going to be a little bit different transition, but he’s been through a club in transition, and it got better every year and went on to have a lot of big years,” Bavasi said. “He’s been through some tough times in both places and handled them real, real well.”
Last season, Hargrove was an assistant to Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro. It was just the second time since 1972 that he hadn’t worn a professional uniform, the only other being 1986, the year after he retired as a player. By the time the Indians broke spring training camp this year, he knew he wanted to manage again.
“I rediscovered my passion, not for the game, but my passion for managing,” he said. “I enjoyed my time in Baltimore, but by the end of my time in Baltimore, I began to question whether I wanted to continue to manage.
“I missed sitting on the bench with your palms sweating, when you just put the squeeze on and it’s the difference whether you’re going to win the ballgame. I missed going to the ballpark every day.
“There are only 30 of these jobs in the world, and of those 30, there are maybe four or five that are really premium jobs, and this is one of those. I feel very fortunate.”
Shapiro knew there was no chance of keeping Hargrove if the opportunity to manage came.
“He is a consummate baseball man, very strong, very consistent, with a tremendous amount of baseball experience and knowledge,” Shapiro said. “While we are disappointed to lose him from our organization, he is very deserving of this opportunity.”
The Mariners asked for and received special permission from commissioner Bud Selig to make the announcement yesterday. The commissioner usually frowns on major announcements during the playoffs, but the Mariners argued that they have a lot of postseason work to do and didn’t want to delay.