John Boles, Jr. (born August 19, 1948, in Chicago, Illinois) is a former manager in Major League Baseball. In addition to twice 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 in the Seattle Mariners organization.
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In 1981, John Boles got his first managerial job with the White Sox's Rookie League affiliate. By 1986, Boles rose up the ranks in his managerial career to AAA. Having grown up as a White Sox fan, Boles wanted the chance to coach or manage his hometown team. In 1986, Jim Leyland was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates to manage the team; Leyland had previously been the third base coach for the White Sox, and then-manager Tony La Russa wanted the front office to hire Boles as the new third base coach. But Ken Harrelson, then-Director of Baseball Operations, hired Doug Rader instead. Disappointed, Boles left the organization to become Director of Player Development for the Royals, under then-General Manager John Schuerholz. In 1989, he accepted an executive position with the Expos under then-General Manager Dave Dombrowski. In 1991, Dombrowski left to become the first General Manager of the expansion Florida Marlins, and Boles soon joined him to become the fledgling team's first Vice President of Player Development.
In 1996, Boles was Vice President of Player Development for the Marlins. But on July 7, then-manager Rene Lachemann was fired, and Boles was named interim manager. He led the Marlins to a 40–35 record in the second half of that season. However, in the offseason, then-Marlins owner H. Wayne Huizenga decided to sign several marquee free agents to make a run at the World Series. In addition to Gary Sheffield; Jeff Conine; Edgar Rentería; Robb Nen; and Kevin Brown, among others, who were already with Florida, the Marlins signed free agents Alex Fernandez; Moisés Alou; and Bobby Bonilla, as well as 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 was traded away. Leyland remained the manager, and in 1998, he led the team to a dismal 54–108 record, making the team the first defending World Series champion to lose 100 games the next season. After the season, Leyland resigned to manage the Colorado Rockies, and Boles was named his replacement for the 1999 season.[1] He led them to a 64–98 record that year, but he followed it up with a 2000 record of 79–82. In late May 2001, relief pitcher Dan Miceli began to publicly criticize Marlins management, chiefly John Boles, as well as the fact that Boles never played in the Majors himself. On May 28, with a record of 22–27, Boles was fired, and quickly replaced with Special Assistant Tony Perez.
In 2002, Boles was hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers as Senior Advisor of Baseball Operations. In 2005, he was hired by the Mariners as Special Assistant to the Executive Vice President and General Manager of Player Personnel.
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| FLA | 1996 | 40 | 35 | .533 | 3rd in NL East | – | – | – | – |
| FLA | 1999 | 64 | 98 | .395 | 5th in NL East | – | – | – | – |
| FLA | 2000 | 79 | 82 | .491 | 3rd in NL East | – | – | – | – |
| FLA | 2001 | 22 | 26 | .458 | 3rd in NL East | – | – | – | (fired) |
| Total | 205 | 241 | .460 | ||||||
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Cookie Rojas |
Miami Marlins Manager 1996 |
Succeeded by Jim Leyland |
| Preceded by Jim Leyland |
Miami Marlins Manager 1999-2001 |
Succeeded by Tony Pérez |
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