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a thigh injury.NEW YORK -- Frank Cashen, the general manager who wore a
signature bow tie and fashioned a New York Mets team that rollicked its way to
the 1986 World Series championship, died Monday. The team said he was 88. He
died at Memorial Hospital in Easton, Maryland, after a short illness, the Mets
said. Cashen was a longtime sports writer in his Baltimore hometown and went to
law school before joining the Orioles and eventually becoming their GM. The
Orioles won two titles while Cashen worked for them, but it was in New York
where he put his stamp on a franchise with the likes of Darryl Strawberry and
Dwight Gooden. Hired in 1980, Cashen transformed a last-place team into an
outfit that became the most dominant force in baseball. Those Mets were brash
and full of swagger, not at all like the personality of the man who built the
club. Cashen made the trades that brought star first baseman Keith Hernandez and
future Hall of Famer Gary Carter to the Mets, and oversaw the draft picks of
Gooden and Strawberry. "Frank was our leader," Strawberry said in a statement.
"I always admired the way he put together our team. He mixed young guys, like me
and Doc, with guys like Carter and Hernandez. He was able to find the perfect
blend to build a championship." Cashen also hired his former second baseman in
Baltimore, Davey Johnson, to be the Mets manager. By the 1986, the Mets were
ready to take over. They powered their way to 108 victories, won a tough playoff
series with Houston and then rallied past Boston to win the World Series in
seven games. "Frank was willing to take a chance and jump me from A-ball to the
majors. That always meant a lot to me," Gooden said in a statement. "Also, he
helped get me my No. 16. Lee Mazzilli had it before and Frank went to bat for me
and said, If thats the number Doc wants, let him have it." Hernandez is now a
broadcaster for the Mets. He was already a star first baseman for the St. Louis
Cardinals when Cashen acquired him in June 1983 in a one-sided deal, getting him
for pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey. Before the Mets played at Atlanta on
Monday night, Hernandez fondly remembered Cashen. "He was a man of integrity and
honestly, and that was most important.
Rodney McLeod Eagles Jersey. . He told you the truth," Hernandez said. "It was a day when the general managers didnt pal
around with the players. We hardly ever saw him, but there was a relationship
there. He was just a wonderful man." After winning the championship, however,
the Mets werent able to sustain that peak performance. In the following years
and Cashen traded away Lenny Dykstra, Ron Darling, Roger McDowell and other
popular players. Cashen left the Mets after a fifth-place finish in 1991. He
remained close to the team and was briefly the interim GM several years later.
"Frank Cashen revitalized our franchise when he took over," Mets chairman Fred
Wilpon said in a statement. "I dealt with Frank on a daily basis and he was a
man of integrity and great passion." "No one had a more diverse career than
Frank. He was also a lawyer, sports writer and marketing executive. His
accomplishments will always be an integral part of our team history," he said.
Cashen, who also worked as an executive in Major League Baseball, was inducted
into the team Hall of Fame for both the Orioles and Mets. "Frank Cashen was one
of the greatest executives in our game," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "A true
gentleman who had many interests, Frank had a multifaceted career in baseball
and beyond. He helped construct some of the best clubs that two of our
franchises - his hometown Baltimore Orioles and the New York Mets - have ever
had." The Orioles said Cashen served the team during its "most successful
on-field era." "It was during his tenure that the Orioles acquired Frank
Robinson and named Earl Weaver manager, two of the most significant moments in
club history," the club said. In recent years, Cashen spent his time in Easton
and in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where the Mets hold spring training. He was in
camp with the Mets this year. "One of the great baseball people," Mets manager
Terry Collins said Monday. Cashen is survived by wife Jean, seven children and
nine grandchildren. ------ AP freelance writer Amy Jinkner-Lloyd in Atlanta
contributed to this report.
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