After 13 years, seven playoff appearances, and the 10th World Series championship in franchise history, the Cardinals and general manager Walt Jocketty parted ways amid reports of conflict and division in the front office.
In making the announcement, Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said that the Cardinals and their 56-year-old general manager had “cordially and respectfully parted ways.”[1]
“The Cardinals and Walt Jocketty are turning the page today with mutual admiration and appreciation for each other,” Dewitt said. “In speaking with Walt this morning, we were in agreement that our relationship – which has produced one of the finest eras in the history of Cardinals baseball – had likely run its course.”[2]
The move came less than a year after the Cardinals won the 2006 World Series – the franchise’s first championship since 1982 – and just three days after the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on internal strife in the Cardinals’ front office.
St. Louis had just concluded a disappointing, injury-plagued 2007 season that saw Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder miss significant time due to injury and Scott Rolen require shoulder surgery late in the year. Without their top two starting pitchers, the Cardinals finished 78-84 and finished third in the NL Central.
The Cardinals’ on-field struggles reflected the challenges taking place in a front office that was divided between Jocketty’s side and that of vice president in charge of scouting and player development Jeff Luhnow. Luhnow’s September 2006 promotion to that position had come over Jocketty’s objections. With DeWitt’s decision, Luhnow was placed in charge of the Cardinals’ draft and farm system, responsibilities that previously had belonged to Jocketty.
“He clearly didn’t agree with the decision. He said that publicly,” DeWitt said. “My view is that one person should run both (player) procurement and development. He felt like it should be split. We had a little different philosophy and vision with some baseball issues.”[3]
DeWitt believed that while Jocketty wouldn’t agree with the decision, the matter would fade away and everyone would move on. Instead, division began to split the Cardinals’ front office, with assistant general manager John Mozeliak seemingly the only one who could bridge the gap between the two sides.[4]
“It’s not a healthy environment when you’re worried about who you’re seen speaking to,” a Cardinals minor-league employee told the Post-Dispatch. “If you speak to someone, you risk making someone else in the front office mad. If you don’t speak, you alienate the person in front of you. It’s tough when you’re in the middle of something like that.”[5]
Initially, DeWitt dismissed the reports of friction within the Cardinals’ front office.
“There’s tension in the front office, but I would guess there is tension in other front offices to a degree,” he said. “That’s the way it is. Everyone is pushing for the same thing: to have as productive a system as possible.”[6]
In announcing Jocketty’s dismissal, however, DeWitt admitted that his working relationship with Jocketty had deteriorated in the year since he promoted Luhnow.
“I think it was just a progressive thing over time,” DeWitt said. “Certain changes are made and people grumble about it and move on. I don’t think that was the case in this situation. It got worse. It’s tough enough to do well when everything’s in sync. It’s really hard when everybody’s not on the same page. Walt recognized that as well.”[7]
Jocketty’s firing ended the longest and one of the most successful GM tenures in Cardinals history. Since hiring Jocketty from his position as assistant general manager of the Rockies, St. Louis had posted a .536 winning percentage (1,117-968) and reached the postseason in seven of 13 seasons (1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006). That success culminated in the 2006 World Series championship.
As general manager, Jocketty had hired manager Tony La Russa and made trades for players like Mark McGwire, Rolen, Will Clark, Larry Walker, and Jim Edmonds.
“It was a hell of a run, a tremendous time here,” said Cardinals President Mark Lamping, who hired Jocketty. “Walt and I talked a while today after the meeting. Neither one of us thought we would last 13 years.”[8]
“Walt will be remembered as the Cardinals GM during one of the most successful and memorable periods in team history, and we’ll always be extremely grateful for his contributions to our many triumphs over the past 13 seasons,” DeWitt said. “Walt’s a friend and will continue to be a friend. I told him I would give him a strong recommendation if I were called about a future position.”[9]
DeWitt announced that Mozeliak, Jocketty’s assistant GM for the past five seasons, would hold the position in an interim role and was a candidate to succeed Jocketty. He also said that Luhnow was not a candidate for the permanent position.[10]
The newly open job was sure to be highly coveted. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch shared a long list of potential successors to Jocketty, including Mozeliak, Mariners special assistant to the general manager Dan Evans, Tigers assistant general manager Al Avila, Red Sox special assistant to the general manager Allard Baird, Twins senior advisor to the general manager Terry Ryan, Phillies assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., Dodgers assistant general manager/scouting director Logan White, Phillies assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle, Dodgers assistant general manager Kim Ng, and Padres special assistant for baseball operations Paul DePodesta.[11]
Whoever inherited the job would have face some complications. With the end of the season, La Russa’s contract had run out and he planned to return to his home in California before making a decision regarding whether he would return.[12] On the field, the Cardinals had acknowledged the need for one or two top-of-the-rotation starting pitchers and additional lineup protection for Albert Pujols.[13]
While recognizing Jocketty’s historic success, longtime Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz acknowledged it was time for the Cardinals to make a change.
“If you’re looking for me to shred Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt, you’ve come to the wrong place,” he wrote. “If you want me to declare that the sky is falling, you’ll be disappointed. If you want me to savage Jeff Luhnow as some know-nothing neophyte just because Jocketty didn’t care for him, well, you won’t be happy. There are no bad guys here, no heroes or villains. It’s just the end of a once-successful era.”[14]
On October 31, four weeks after announcing Jocketty’s firing, the Cardinals named Mozeliak general manager.
“I want (the fans) to know we are committed to winning – and creating a successful environment that will allow us to compete,” Mozeliak said. “Everyone knows the landscape’s changing at the major-league level, and we have to adapt. As we move forward, we are prepared to do so.”[15]
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[1] David Wilhelm, “Cardinals and Jocketty part ways,” Belleville News-Democrat, October 4, 2007.
[2] David Wilhelm, “Cardinals and Jocketty part ways,” Belleville News-Democrat, October 4, 2007.
[3] David Wilhelm, “Cardinals and Jocketty part ways,” Belleville News-Democrat, October 4, 2007.
[4] Joe Strauss, “So much to do,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 30, 2007.
[5] Joe Strauss, “So much to do,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 30, 2007.
[6] Joe Strauss, “So much to do,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 30, 2007.
[7] David Wilhelm, “Cardinals and Jocketty part ways,” Belleville News-Democrat, October 4, 2007.
[8] David Wilhelm, “Cardinals and Jocketty part ways,” Belleville News-Democrat, October 4, 2007.
[9] David Wilhelm, “Cardinals and Jocketty part ways,” Belleville News-Democrat, October 4, 2007.
[10] David Wilhelm, “Cardinals and Jocketty part ways,” Belleville News-Democrat, October 4, 2007.
[11] “Replacement Hopefuls,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 4, 2007.
[12] Joe Strauss, “So much to do,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 30, 2007.
[13] Joe Strauss, “So much to do,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 30, 2007.
[14] Bernie Miklasz, “Given Jocketty’s unhappiness, his departure isn’t surprising,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 4, 2007.
[15] Joe Strauss, “Mozeliak is named Cards GM,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 1, 2007.
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