John Boles Jr.
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John Boles, Jr. (born August 19, 1948, in Chicago, Illinois) is a former manager in Major League Baseball. In addition to managing the Florida Marlins, he was also an executive with the Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos, and Los Angeles Dodgers, as well as a minor league manager in the Chicago White Sox organization. He is currently an executive with the Seattle Mariners.
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[edit] Early career
In 1981, John Boles got his first managerial job as manager of the White Sox' Rookie League team. By 1986, Boles was the manager of the AAA team. A White Sox fan as a child, Boles wanted the chance to coach with his hometown team. In 1986, Jim Leyland was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates to be their manager; Leyland had previously been the third base coach for the White Sox, and manager Tony La Russa wanted the front office to hire Boles as the new third base coach. But Ken Harrelson, the director of baseball operations, hired Doug Rader instead. Disappointed, Boles left the organization to become the Director of Player Development with the Royals, under general manager John Schuerholz. In 1989, he accepted an executive position with the Expos under general manager Dave Dombrowski. In 1991, Dombrowski left to become the first general manager of the expansion Florida Marlins, and Boles went with him to become the team's first Vice President of Player Development.
[edit] Managerial career
In 1996, Boles was serving as Vice President of Player Development for the Marlins, but on July 7, then-manager Rene Lachemann was fired and Boles was given his job on an interim basis. He led the Marlins to a 40-35 record the rest of the way. That offseason, then-Marlins owner Wayne Huizenga decided to sign marquee free agents to make a run at the World Series. In addition to Gary Sheffield, Jeff Conine, Edgar Renteria, Robb Nen, and Kevin Brown, among others who were already with Florida, the Marlins signed free agents Alex Fernandez, Moises Alou, and Bobby Bonilla, and also signed manager Jim Leyland, who had led the Pirates to three straight playoff berths from 1990-92. This signing moved Boles back to his previously-held position within the organization.
After the 1997 season, Huizenga ordered a "fire sale" in which nearly every marquee player on the Marlins was traded. Leyland remained the manager and in 1998 led the team to a 54-108 record, making the team the first defending world champion to lose 100 games the next season. After the season, Leyland resigned to become manager of the Colorado Rockies and Boles was named manager for the 1999 season. He led them to a 64-98 record that year, but followed it up with a 2000 record of 79-82. In late May of 2001, relief pitcher Dan Miceli began to publicly criticize management, especially some of Boles' moves, as well as the fact that Boles was never a major league baseball player. On May 28, with a record of 22-27, Boles was fired and replaced with Special Assistant to the General Manager and Hall of Famer Tony Perez.
[edit] Post-managerial career
In 2002, Boles was hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a senior advisor of baseball operations. In 2005, he was hired by the Mariners as the Special Assistant to the Executive Vice President & General Manager, Player Personnel.
[edit] External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career managing record
- John Boles at BaseballLibrary.com
| Preceded by Rene Lachemann |
Florida Marlins Manager 1996 |
Succeeded by Jim Leyland |
| Preceded by Jim Leyland |
Florida Marlins Manager 1999-2001 |
Succeeded by Tony Pérez |
