Sunday, April 04, 1999
Game is McKeon's lifeblood
A 50-year labor of love
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
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Jack McKeon talks with Johnny Bench Saturday.
(Craig Ruttle photo)
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Baseball is full of men such as Jack McKeon, men who have made the game their life.
But few have immersed themselves so fully.
As the 68-year-old Reds manager observes the 50th anniversary of his first year in pro baseball, he can reflect on a career as player, scout, executive and manager.
McKeon began his professional baseball life on Jan.2, 1949, by signing a minor-league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization for $215 a month. That modest sum has multiplied into a vast wealth of experience.
“I guess I've done everything except be the president of the ballclub. And I'm not interested in that,” said McKeon, who'll lead the Reds into Monday's season opener at Cinergy Field against the San Francisco Giants. "I'm interested in being where the action is.”
McKEON FILE
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• Born: Nov. 23, 1930
• Birthplace: South Amboy, N.J.
• Resides: Elon College, N.C.
• Major-league record: 589-589 (.500).
• Major-league teams managed:
Kansas City (1973-75)
Oakland (1977-78)
San Diego (1988-90)
Cincinnati (1997-present).
• Minor-league record: 1223-1208 (.503).
• Honors: Manager of Year, Missoula (Pioneer League, 1958), Wilson (Carolina League, 1961), Omaha (American Association, 1969-70).
• Other posts: Scout, Minnesota (1965-67), General Manager, San Diego (1980-90), senior adviser/player personnel, Cincinnati (1993-97).
• Personal: Married (Carol), four children (Kristi, Kori, Kelly, Kasey).
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As the San Diego Padres general manager from 1980-90, he forged the “Trader Jack” persona, engineering several trades that revitalized the franchise and kept it in contention through much of the decade.
“A lot of general managers were afraid to deal with him,” said Reds scout Dick Hager, who worked with McKeon in San Diego. “He intimidated them. I guess they thought he was going to pick their pocket.”
McKeon has received credit for spotting talented younger players and guiding their early development. Two notable performers whose ascents he hastened were pitcher Jim Kaat, who won 283 major-league games, and second baseman Frank White, a five-time All-Star with Kansas City.
In this sense, he's the ideal manager for the Reds. Five of the eight position players in Monday's lineup are 26 or younger. A sixth, Brett Tomko, is the Opening Day starting pitcher.
“It's as if they're your sons,” McKeon said. "You want to get on them if you have to. You want to pat them on the back. You want to be so proud when a player gets to the big leagues or becomes an All-Star and feel that maybe when I chewed him out, I had some effect. Or when I patted him on the back when he was going 0-for-20, that helped him.”
Growing up in South Amboy, N.J., McKeon would organize teams, which frequently included future major-leaguers Eddie and Johnny O'Brien, to play baseball against rival squads. If travel was involved, no problem: McKeon's father, Bill, ran a garage and taxi service and could provide transportation.
“I've probably been managing since I was 13 years old,” McKeon said.
He found that managing was in his future during his minor-league career as a catcher. Solid defensively, McKeon wasn't good with the bat.
It was the era when most franchises had two or three times as many minor-league affiliates as they do today. Pittsburgh, McKeon's organization, had 15. After spending 1951 in the Air Force, he reached a tough conclusion.
“That's when my scouting came in handy. I scouted myself,” he said. “I said, "You're not going to get to the big leagues as a player. Why don't you change your direction?'”
At about that time, McKeon encountered Danny Murtaugh, the Pirates' manager at New Orleans in the Double-A Southern Association, during spring training. “I guess it was '53,” McKeon said. Murtaugh learned of McKeon's desire to manage and mentioned it to Pittsburgh's legendary general manager, Branch Rickey. McKeon made his managerial debut in 1955 with Fayetteville in the Class B Carolina League, serving as a player-manager with three teams through 1959.
Being on the field with the players he was directing occasionally helped McKeon emphasize a point.
One night in 1958 when they were playing for Class C Missoula (Mont.) in the Pioneer League, Kaat missed McKeon's sign for a pitchout. Instead of throwing the ball wide, Kaat made a normal pitch, which the hitter fouled back.
As Kaat recalled, “Jack's next couple of throws to the mound had a little extra sting on them — "Pay attention to what you're doing.'”
McKeon also drove his players through diligence. Nearly every morning he'd work on defensive fundamentals with Kaat and another future major-leaguer, outfielder Sandy Valdespino. So when executives from Missoula's parent club, the Washington Senators (later the Minnesota Twins), declared Kaat had no chance to reach the majors, McKeon bristled.
"I'll bet you a steak dinner he's pitching in the major leagues in two years,” McKeon told Joe Haynes, an ex-pitcher who was the Senators' vice president.
Kaat made his major-league debut on Aug. 2, 1959.
"When you live with a kid, you know their makeup, you know their intelligence, you know what kind of heart they have,” said McKeon, explaining how judges a player. “Sometimes that overshadows what the (radar) guns are going to show you.”
Reds first baseman Sean Casey knows how McKeon can look beyond immediate shortcomings to see the broader picture. Casey saw it last May 22, when McKeon told him of his demotion to Triple-A.
“I told him, "I'm going to hit in this league (the majors),'” Casey said. “He said, "I know you're going to hit in this league. You'll be back up here soon. Just get some at-bats.' So he was very encouraging to me. Knowing he was in my corner was great.”
McKeon's longevity stems partly from avoiding distractions. He placidly avoided the fuss that arose when left fielder Greg Vaughn challenged the Reds' 32-year ban against facial hair, which was dropped.
“There's too much made of incidental things that don't have any bearing on the game,” McKeon said. “I want to get a bunch of pros out there that want to play hard.”
Reds right fielder Dmitri Young understands this.
“Jack likes to see old-school-type baseball,” Young said. "If you hit four ground balls to the second baseman, run each of them out. He really stresses the small things. Team baseball.”
McKeon's work ethic allowed him to handle the general manager's and field manager's duties in San Diego from 1988-90. Typically, each job in itself is all-consuming.
“He'd get up at 6:30 in the morning, go to church and come home at 11:30 at night,” said Kasey McKeon, McKeon's younger son, a scout and cross-checker for the Reds. “He's relentless. Whenever he takes on a task, it's a never-ending job until he gets it accomplished.”
Jack McKeon has brought that energy into another season.
“It's a fun game. I love the challenges,” he said. "It keeps me young. It gives you enthusiasm.”
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