Walt Jocketty, legendary baseball executive who got his start and with Oakland A’s, dies at 74

By WARREN MAYES

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Walt Jocketty, the legendary baseball executive who got his start and won a World Series with the Oakland A’s, has died. He was 74.

Jocketty died Friday in the Phoenix area, former St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told the team after speaking with Jocketty’s wife Sue. The Cardinals announced the death Saturday. Jocketty had been battling health issues for the several years.

Jocketty was a three-time baseball executive of the year and former general manager for both the Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds.

Then-A’s owner Charlie Finley gave Jocketty his start, hiring the 29-year-old to be the director of minor league operations and scouting in 1980. The A’s were just a year removed from a then-Oakland record 108 loss season. But under Jocketty the A’s farm system became the envy of baseball, drafting and developing Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Terry Steinbach and others who became key parts to the A’s three straight World Series teams, including the 1989 squad that swept the Giants.

Jocketty spent the final nine of his 14 seasons with the A’s as director of baseball administration, serving as GM Sandy Alderson’s right-hand man.

Jocketty became the general manager in St. Louis on Oct. 14, 1994. After the team was sold in 1995, the new ownership kept Jocketty in his job. His biggest move was hiring La Russa in 1996. The two men had worked together in Oakland.

La Russa would go on to be the winningest manager in the Cardinals history and a Hall of Famer.

Before Saturday’s 6-5 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cardinals held a moment of silence for Jocketty.

The Cardinals won the National League Central Division seven times under Jocketty’s leadership. St. Louis also won National League championships in 2004 and 2006 and their 10th World Series title in 2006. The 2006 championship, with a team that won 83 games in the regular season, ended a 24-year drought.

“On behalf of the entire St. Louis Cardinals organization, I would like to offer condolences to Walt’s family and his many friends,” Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement. “Walt was our first GM when we purchased the ballclub and he helped to lead our baseball operations through some of the franchises most successful and memorable years.

“He will be sorely missed but long remembered for his distinguished career in baseball.”

In his tenure with St. Louis, Jocketty either drafted or acquired such stars as McGwire. Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, Adam Wainright, Chris Carpenter, David Eckstein, Jason Isringhausen, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen and others.

With Jocketty at the helm, St. Louis put together seven consecutive winning seasons. In 2004 and 2005, the Cardinals won more than 100 games.

He was named the MLB Executive of the Year in 2000, 2004 and 2010.

Leading up to the 2000 season, Jocketty became the first GM in baseball history to trade for a 20-game winner (Darryl Kile from Colorado) and a 40 home run hitter (Edmonds from Anaheim) in the same offseason.

After he was fired by the Cardinals in 2007 because of differences with ownership, Jocketty was hired by the Cincinnati Reds as a special adviser on Jan. 11, 2008. He then was named general manager of the Reds after Wayne Krivsky was fired on April 23, 2008. He served in that role until Dick Williams replaced him on Dec. 27, 2016.

Jocketty was replaced by John Mozeliak in St. Louis.

“He was a great man,” Mozeliak said after Saturday’s game. “In terms of baseball, he loved it. His influence on myself and this organization was huge. Trying to sum it up in a sentence or two is difficult but his impact is something that I think will always be remembered. His legacy will age well.”

Despite replacing him when he was fired, Mozeliak said the two remained close.

“That was a different time, of course,” Mozeliak said. “In the end, we ended up being friends again. We both understood this is part of the business. I think he was proud of the success I ended up having.”

The Reds made the playoffs three times when Jocketty served as the GM — in 2010, 2012 and 2013. They have made the playoffs only once since.

Jocketty is survived by his wife and two children, Ashley and Joey.

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