Walt Jocketty
ST. LOUIS - Walt Jocketty is out as general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, one year after the team won the World Series for the first time since 1982.
It was unclear whether Jocketty was fired or resigned. The Cardinals said his departure was a mutual decision.
“I think we had a little different philosophy and vision with respect to some baseball issues,” owner Bill DeWitt Jr. said Wednesday.
Jocketty and manager Tony La Russa have been together both in Oakland and St. Louis. La Russa’s contract is expiring, and it is unclear whether Jocketty’s departure will play a role in whether La Russa stays.
Assistant general manager John Mozeliak was appointed interim GM.
Jocketty was hired in 1994 and took over a team that hadn’t reached the playoffs since 1987. He hired La Russa before the 1996 season, and the Cardinals reached the NL championship series, where they lost to Atlanta in seven games.
St. Louis won six NL Central titles in 13 seasons under Jocketty and two NL pennants. After failing to spend much on free agents last winter, the Cardinals faded to a 78-84 record this year and a third-place finish behind Chicago and Milwaukee.
“There was clearly tension that was reported widely,” DeWitt said. “While I’ve said on several occasions tension is in every organization, I do think it got to be counterproductive. We couldn’t achieve our goals given what was going on.”