Miami Marlins: New ownership to dismiss four special assistants
By Tim Haberin
The way in which the incoming Miami Marlins owners chose to fire four special assistants – two Hall of Famers among them – is attracting scrutiny.
When a new ownership group assumes control of a professional sports franchise, organizational changes are inevitable. Incumbent executives and officials depart in favor of the new bosses’ own handpicked team. Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman are not yet officially in control of the Miami Marlins, but they are apparently already lining up the personnel moves they plan to make.
According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, Jeter wants to dismiss four longtime special assistants of the club. While that bit of news might not seem particularly noteworthy in general, the names involved here are royalty when it comes to baseball and Marlins franchise history.
Hall of Famers Tony Perez and Andre Dawson are expected to get the boot, along with World Series-winning former manager Jack McKeon and Jeff Conine, whose eight seasons with the Fish dating back to their 1993 inception earned him the nickname “Mr. Marlin.”
The odd thing about the whole situation is that Jeter reportedly did not want to inform the four special assistants of their impending firings himself. He asked team president David Samson – who will also be leaving the organization at season’s end – to do it for him. While Jeter is well within his rights to make these personnel changes as the incoming head of baseball operations, dismissing four well-respected figures in such unceremonious fashion isn’t exactly the best look.
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If anything, this development shows that the new ownership group will not stand on tradition or sentiment as it reshapes the franchise image and culture. Per Jackson, McKeon had an agreement with outgoing owner Jeffrey Loria to manage a game next September, allowing him to exceed Connie Mack as the oldest skipper in history at 87 years and nine months. That would have been a fun story, but it’s clear the incoming brass isn’t interested.
Wanting a clean break from the past is understandable, but you’d be hard-pressed to argue that the advisory contributions of McKeon, Conine, Perez and Dawson amounted to much in the grand scheme of things. Virtually every organization has former players and coaches in similar roles, and the arrangement is more honorary than anything else. Was there truly an urgent need to do this now and in such a clinical manner?
The Marlins as a franchise don’t have the richest history, despite winning two world titles in their 24-year existence. Maintaining healthy relationships with former greats and fan favorites should place highly on their list of priorities, regardless of any ownership change. The new shot-callers obviously want to usher in a new era of sustained success in Miami, but that doesn’t mean figures from the past should be ignored or thrown away.
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Dawson and McKeon have taken the diplomatic route, telling the Herald that while they are disappointed, they understand the nature of the business. If Jeter, Sherman and company can turn things around quickly, perhaps this will be summarily forgotten. But if the rebuild stalls or doesn’t provide results in an agreeable timeframe, these firings – and the way in which they were handled – will be an easy point of criticism for Marlins fans to level at the new leadership. “Better than Loria” will only go so far.