Former Major League Baseball general manager Walt Jocketty of Minneapolis, Minnesota passed away at the age of 74 on Friday according to the Associated Press. He had been battling numerous health issues, died in Arizona, and left behind wife Sue.
What MLB teams were Jocketty in charge of?
Jocketty was initially hired as the general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals on October 14, 1994. Remember, the 1994 MLB regular season was cancelled because of players’s strike. He went on to be the general manager of the Cardinals for 13 seasons up until 2007. Then from 2008 to 2015, Jocketty was the general manager of the Cincinnati Reds.
Most significant hiring
Jocketty was very close to Hall of Fame manager Tony LaRussa of Tampa, Florida. He hired LaRussa to be the Cardinals manager for the 1996 Major League Baseball season. LaRussa stayed on as the Cardinals manager through to the 2011 season (four years after Jocketty left the Cardinals). The connection between LaRussa and Jocketty was very tight. In fact, when Jocketty passed away, it was LaRussa who Sue contacted in the baseball community to notify of Walt’s death.
World Series champion as general manager
Jocketty won a World Series as a general manager with the Cardinals in 2006. The Cardinals defeated the Detroit Tigers in five games.
Most significant player personnel moves
While with the Cardinals, Jocketty acquired first baseman Mark McGwire of Pomona, California in a trade with the Oakland Athletics in 1997, selected first baseman Albert Pujols of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in the 13th round of the 1999 MLB Draft, and acquired starting pitcher Adam Wainwright of Brunswick, Georgia in a trade with the Atlanta Braves in 2003. While with the Reds in 2012, Jocketty signed all-star first baseman Joey Votto of Toronto, Ontario to a 10-year contract extension worth $225 million.
Other MLB roles
Jocketty was with the Oakland Athletics from 1980 to 1993. In that time he was Oakland’s Director of Minor League Operations and Scouting, and the Director of Baseball Administration. In 1989, the Athletics beat the San Francisco Giants in four games to win the World Series. Then in 1994, Jocketty was the assistant general manager of player personnel for the Colorado Rockies.
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