Frey’s moves included signing George Bell and Danny Jackson, trading Lee Smith to Boston for Calvin Schiraldi and Al Nipper; dealing Keith Moreland to the Padres for Rich Gossage; and shipping Rafael Palmeiro and Jamie Moyer to Texas for Mitch Williams. Why have models of Colorado’s coronavirus trajectory been off? The team did even better in 1989, winning 93 games and finishing in first place for the second time in the ’80s. He attended Western Hills High School in Cincinnati, where he was teammates with another future baseball lifer, Don Zimmer. They did not reach the World Series until 2016, when they beat Cleveland in seven games. Kansas City was 20-30 when the 1981 season was interrupted by a players’ strike and 10-10 when Frey was fired with the Royals in first place of the second-half divisions standings. After spending 1987 as a commentator on Cubs’ radio broadcasts, he was hired as the Cubs’ GM that December and brought in Zimmer as manager. He was hired by the Chicago Cubs for the 1984 season, and again struck paydirt as the Cubs won the division title, earning their first post-season appearance since 1945. Not only was he a friend to our team, he was more importantly, a friend to me, Suzanne, and Jonathan and Josh. The rest of his tenure wouldn’t be as successful. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Frey managed the Kansas City Royals (1980-81) and Chicago Cubs (1984-86), and he was also a minor-league player and manager, scout, coach and general manager in a long baseball career. Born in Cleveland on May 26, 1931, Frey became friends with future major leaguer Don Zimmer at Western Hills High School in Cincinnati. He scouted and managed in the minor leagues for the Baltimore Orioles and coached for them under Earl Weaver in the late 1970s. Change ). 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They just see something white coming up there and they hit it with a stick.”. He was 88 years old. Sandberg responded with 19 home runs on the season and won the 1984 MVP Award. So Frey made a bold move in the winter of 1988, trading budding star Rafael Palmeiro and young pitcher Jamie Moyer to the Texas Rangers for a number of players, including Mitch Williams. Frey had the winning hit in the 1947 championship game. In 1958, he moved to the St. Louis organization. Frey spent 1964 and 1965 as skipper of the Bluefield Orioles and 1966 to 1969 as a Baltimore Orioles scout before serving as a Oriole coach under Earl Weaver from 1970 to 1979. My family tolerates this about me. He should be the guy that makes big things happen. It’s very sad to hear of his passing. Frey didn’t spend much time talking with his players; he just expected them to do the jobs they were given. The trade appeared to pay off for the Cubs with respect to the 1989 season as Williams saved 36 games, the Cubs won a division title and Moyer and Palmeiro struggled in Texas. Chicago slumped to 77-85 in 1985 and Frey was replaced by John Vukovich after a 22-33 start in 1986. His power stroke eventually led him to the Baseball Hall of Fame as well. Chicago won the division in 1989 only to lose to San Francisco in the playoffs. He tossed 3 scoreless innings in his professional pitching debut. Jim Frey, who managed the Kansas City Royals to the 1980 AL pennant and the Chicago Cubs to within one win of the 1984 World Series, has died. The Cubs lost in the 1989 NLCS to the San Francisco Giants, and they were unable to recapture that same magic in subsequent seasons. “Jim will be greatly missed and we send our love to the entire Frey family,” said Somerset Patriots Chairman Emeritus Steve Kalafer. It was as high as he would get, however. Frey hit in front of Aaron, so he had a great opportunity to view his swing. A celebrated group of Cubs that included Ryne Sandberg, Ron Cey, Gary Matthews, Keith Moreland, Leon Durham and Rick Sutcliffe won the first two games in the best-of-five NL Championship Series at Wrigley Field. Frey replaced Whitey Herzog as the Royals’ manager after the 1979 season. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Frey (a lifelong friend of Don Zimmer — they were teammates at Western Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio) never reached the major leagues as a player. GET BREAKING NEWS IN YOUR BROWSER. When the Cubs beat the San Diego Padres in the first two games of the League Championship, it looked like the Cubs would break the infamous Billy Goat curse. Frey had said that he wanted to remain active in baseball as a coach or manager after his playing days were over, and he got his chance when the Baltimore Orioles asked him to manage their Rookie-Level team in Bluefield, W.V., in 1964 and 1965. I belong to the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Frey is survived by his wife of 68 years, the former Joan Miller; son James; daughters Mary Maenner, Jennifer Stangl and Cindy Sullivan; six grandchildren and five great grandchildren. The Padres won three straight games in San Diego to head to the World Series. Frey made several controversial trades, dealing players such as Lee Smith, Keith Moreland, Rafael Palmerio and Jamie Moyer. “He saw the opportunity for me to be a relief pitcher back then and set me on that path. He finally got his call to the major leagues in 1970, when Orioles manager Weaver needed a bullpen coach following the resignation of Charlie Lau. He also cracked 11 home runs in 1954, which was more than he’d hit in his entire professional career to that point. He held the position of vice chairman in the early days of the Bridgewater, N.J.-based team. MLB angry with Dodgers’ Justin Turner, who chose to disregard safety protocols Received? Jim Frey, former Royals and Cubs manager who also coached under Orioles’ Earl Weaver, dies at age 88. It wasn’t to be. He scouted and managed in the minor leagues for Baltimore and coached for the Orioles under manager Earl Weaver from 1979-79. Not that the relationship had anything to do with the hire. He even discovered some power and hit 16 homers in 1960 with Rochester and in 1962 with Buffalo. Still, the 1984 Cubs are revered among Cubs fans. He was given a difficult assignment. A celebrated group of Cubs that included Ryne Sandberg, Ron Cey, Gary Matthews, Keith Moreland, Leon Durham and Rick Sutcliffe won the first two games in the best-of-five NL Championship Series at Wrigley Field. Frey replaced Whitey … Herzog was popular and had won three division championships in four seasons; he was possibly fired by owner Ewing Kauffman and general manager Joe Burke over comments about the team’s failure to bring in new players. Many second-guessers believed he should have started Game One pitcher Sutcliffe in Game Four instead of Sanderson. Every ballplayer has a story worth telling. The drill made Sandberg less susceptible to low, inside fastballs, and veterans Larry Bowa, Ron Cey and Bill Buckner implored him to trust Frey because of his background with the Orioles and Weaver, who adored the three-run home run. How to decipher the status of your Maryland vote-by-mail ballot. He returned to the Class-A in 1953 — this time with the Jacksonville Braves of the Sally League — and proceeded to hit .317 and .316 in 1953 and ’54, respectively. “He was a great baseball mind and the person who gave me my first chance in the game,” former pitcher Sparky Lyle said in a statement about his early minor league manager. The Royals stumbled out of the gate in 1981 and got off to a 20-30 start. Aaron always answered, “Right down the middle,” even when Frey could see that they were on the outside corner. Growing up in Cincinnati, he played for the American Legion Bentley post, which was the American Legion runner-up in 1946 and the national champion in 1947. After spending 1987 as a commentator on Cubs' radio broadcasts, he was hired as the Cubs' GM that December and brought in Zimmer as manager. Frey managed a team in the Venezuelan Winter League over the 1972 offseason. Frey replaced Whitey Herzog as … Frey coached for the New York Mets in 1982 and '83, then was hired by the Cubs to replace Charlie Fox. We remained good friends all this time. Some people loved the approach, and some didn’t, but the results were that the Royals got to the World Series for the first time in franchise history. SOMERSET, N.J. — Jim Frey, who managed the Kansas City Royals to the 1980 AL pennant and the Chicago Cubs to within one win of the 1984 World Series, has died. Frey's record in just less than two seasons as Royals manager was 127–105. Jim Frey was born in Cleveland on May 26, 1931. Upon being named manager for the 1984 season, Jim took over a club that had not had a winning record since 1972 and immediately helped return the Cubs to postseason play, leading the team to the NL East title and its first playoff appearance in 39 years, earning NL Manager of the Year honors along the way. A recurring arm injury prevented him from his best shot at the big leagues, in 1958.[2]. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Frey replaced Whitey Herzog as the Royals' manager after the 1979 season. Jim Frey. The Cubs pitching staff was hammered by injuries in 1985, and the team fell to a 77-84 record. The 19-year-old outfielder, who batted left and threw left, quickly became one of the league’s best hitters. In the second game of the season, Sandberg homered on an inside fastball off stingy Giants closer Greg Minton to secure an 11-7 victory. After spending 1987 as a commentator on Cubs’ radio broadcasts, he was hired as the Cubs’ GM that December and brought in Zimmer as manager. Frey was satisfied with his role and didn’t miss being a manager at all. Chicago led 3-0 in Game 5, then allowed two runs in the sixth inning and four in the seventh in a 6-3 defeat. Those things are OK with a lot of players. April 14, 2020 KANSAS CITY -- Jim Frey, who managed the Royals to their first World Series appearance and guided the Cubs to the 1984 National League East title, passed away Sunday at the age of 88. When we left spring training, I made the statement that we had a lot of young players, that no one knew exactly what we had, that it would take time for them to come together as a team. Frey had managed Lyle in the Baltimore system. The season was put on hold for nearly two months because of the player’s strike, and when play resumed in the “second half,” the Royals went 10-10 in the first 20 games. At the time, Sandberg was a spray hitter who relied on his speed. “We join the baseball community in mourning Jim’s passing and send our condolences to his family and friends.”, Hall of Famer Joe Torre remembers former @Royals and @Cubs manager Jim Frey, who passed away at the age of 88: pic.twitter.com/aZ7sxAOIZp. A left-handed batting-and-throwing outfielder, Frey spent much of his career in the farm systems of the Boston/Milwaukee Braves and St. Louis Cardinals. But Williams had just one more forgettable year for the Cubs before being traded to Philadelphia in 1991, and Palmeiro and Moyer went on to have productive careers. By then, he was 26 years old and had proven he could compete at the AAA level.
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