Walt Jocketty | |
---|---|
![]() Jocketty before Opening Day 2006 at Busch Stadium | |
Born | Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. | February 19, 1951
Education | University of Minnesota |
Known for | General Manager of St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds |
Spouse | Sue |
Walt Jocketty (born February 19, 1951) [1] is an American baseball executive who is the Executive Adviser to the CEO of the Cincinnati Reds. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he attended the University of Minnesota where he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration. [2] He was the General Manager of the St. Louis Cardinals from October 14, 1994 until October 3, 2007.
Jocketty began working for the Oakland Athletics beginning in March 1980, when he was hired by owner Charlie Finley as Director of Minor League Operations and Scouting. [2] It was in this capacity that Jocketty took a lead role in overhauling the A's minor league system, and was also instrumental in founding the Arizona Rookie League and the Dominican Summer League. [2] Less than five years into his time with Oakland, Jocketty was promoted to Director of Baseball Administration, a post he held the remainder of his time in Oakland. During the 1994 season Jocketty served the Colorado Rockies for a brief stint as their assistant general manager of player personnel. [2] [3]
Walt Jocketty was hired as general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals on October 14, 1994. When Anheuser-Busch sold the team following the 1995 season, the new ownership chose to retain Jocketty. He was instrumental in bringing new manager Tony La Russa, whom he had worked with in Oakland, to St. Louis.
During his time as Cardinal GM, the Cardinals compiled seven National League Central Division championships (1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006), two National League Championships (2004 and 2006), and one World Series Championship (2006). The Cardinals had seven straight winning seasons under Jocketty, including 100+ win seasons in 2004 and 2005. Jocketty has been named the Executive of the Year in MLB three times, in 2000, 2004, & 2010.
Jocketty was fired by the Cardinals organization on October 3, 2007. Team owner Bill DeWitt cited divisiveness in the baseball operations front office as the reason for Jocketty's dismissal. [4]
Jocketty was hired as a Special Adviser to the Cincinnati Reds on January 11, 2008. Jocketty's role was to advise and assist the team in their baseball operations which includes the front office, personnel, scouting, minor and international operations and training and medical services. He was named the next general manager of the Reds after Wayne Krivsky was fired April 23, 2008. [5]
After the 2010 season, Jocketty was named Sporting News Executive Of Year. [6]
After the 2015 season, he was named to the new position of president of baseball operations. [7]
On December 27, 2016, he was named executive advisor to the CEO. [8]
Miguel Jesús Cairo [ki'-row], is a Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder and currently the bench coach for the Washington Nationals. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine different clubs in a 17-year career, spanning from 1996 to 2012. During his playing days, Cairo stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 225 pounds (102 kg) while batting and throwing right-handed. While primarily a second baseman, Cairo was able to play all the infield positions and as a corner outfielder. He was also used for pinch-hitting duties late in his career. He was interim manager for the White Sox in the latter part of the 2022 season as manager Tony La Russa stepped away due to health concerns.
Anthony La Russa Jr. is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, and Chicago White Sox. In 33 years as a manager, La Russa guided his teams to three World Series titles, six league championships, and 13 division titles. His managerial total of 2,884 MLB wins is second only to Connie Mack's.
Jason Derik Isringhausen is an American former professional baseball pitcher and coach. He pitched in Major League Baseball from 1995 through 2012 for the New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Isringhausen was, with Bill Pulsipher and Paul Wilson, a member of "Generation K", a group of highly regarded Mets prospects. Isringhausen proceeded to have a successful career as a relief pitcher, recording exactly 300 career saves. He was a two-time All-Star and led the National League in saves in 2004.
Vaughan Pallmore "Bing" Devine was an American front office executive in Major League Baseball. As general manager, Devine was a major architect of four National League champions and three World Series champions in the six years from 1964 through 1969.
Robert Lee Howsam was an American professional sports executive and entrepreneur. In 1959, he played a key role in establishing two leagues—the American Football League, which succeeded and merged with the National Football League, and baseball's Continental League, which never played a game but forced expansion of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 16 to 20 teams in 1961–62.
Russell Paul Springer is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Springer made his major league debut on April 17, 1992, with the New York Yankees. He also pitched for the California Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, and Cincinnati Reds. He was a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks when they won the 2001 World Series, and was a member of the Houston Astros when they went to the World Series in 2005.
Richard Henry O'Connell was an American front office executive in Major League Baseball. He was executive vice president of the Boston Red Sox from 1961 through 1977 and served as general manager of the team from September 16, 1965, through October 24, 1977, a period during which he played a pivotal role in restoring the Red Sox to contending status, won two American League pennants, and helped make the team a flagship MLB franchise.
Christopher Edward Speier is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop, most notably for the San Francisco Giants and the Montreal Expos. He is known by the nickname "the Alameda Rifle" as a native of the San Francisco Bay Area city who possessed a strong arm during his days as an active player.
Wayne Krivsky is an American professional baseball executive. The former general manager of the Cincinnati Reds, serving from February 2006 until April 2008, and was a special assistant to the GM and a Major League scout for the Minnesota Twins. It was his second tour of duty with the Twins, where he was assistant general manager in 1999–2005.
Cameron Hubert Bonifay is an American former Major League Baseball executive and scout, best known as general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1993 to 2001.
Joseph Anthony McDonald is an American former front office executive in American Major League Baseball. McDonald served as general manager of three MLB clubs between 1975 and 1992, and had a long career in the game as an administrator and a scout. Born in Staten Island, New York City, he is a 1951 graduate of Fordham University.
William Joseph Bavasi is an American former Major League Baseball general manager. He currently works as director of the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau, appointed in November 2014. Bavasi previously served as an assistant to the GM for the Cincinnati Reds, under Reds general manager Walt Jocketty. The son of longtime MLB executive Buzzie Bavasi and the brother of Peter Bavasi, also a former MLB executive, Bill also spent six full seasons (1994–99) as the general manager of the California/Anaheim Angels and a 4+1⁄2 season stint as GM of the Seattle Mariners (2003–08).
The 2008 Cincinnati Reds season was the 139th season for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their sixth at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The Reds play in the National League Central; their divisional foes were the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, and Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cubs were the defending champions. The Reds did not make the playoffs until 2010 season, with their last playoff appearance in 1995.
John Mozeliak is an American baseball executive who is the president of baseball operations of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Never a professional baseball player, Mozeliak came to the Cardinals as Walt Jocketty's assistant in 1995 and became the organization's twelfth General Manager after the 2007 season.
Robert E. Quinn is a former American professional baseball executive. Quinn spent almost 30 years in senior front office positions in Major League Baseball and worked as the general manager of three clubs: the New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants. He was the general manager of the 1990 World Series champion Cincinnati Reds.
Robert Henry Gebhard is an American retired front-office executive in Major League Baseball and a former right-handed pitcher for the Minnesota Twins and Montreal Expos. He was the first general manager in the history of the Colorado Rockies of the National League, serving from 1992, the year before the Rockies made their MLB debut, until his resignation near the end of the 1999 season.
The St. Louis Cardinals, a professional baseball franchise based in St. Louis, Missouri, compete in the National League (NL) of Major League Baseball (MLB). Brewing magnate Gussie Busch's 37-year-long ownership of the club ended with his death in 1989, and his brewery, Anheuser-Busch (AB) took over. In 1995, an investment group led by Drew Baur and William DeWitt, Jr., purchased the team and have owned the club since. Shortstop Ozzie Smith – nicknamed "The Wizard" – collected a staggering array of defensive records and awards while performing acrobatic spectacles such as somersaults and flips that mesmerized Cardinal and non-Cardinal fans alike. In 1998, Mark McGwire and the Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa collocated national attention with their chase of Roger Maris' single-season home run record of 61. In addition, McGwire also set numerous team home run records. For the 1990s, the Cardinals captured one division title and finished above .500 five times for a .488 winning percentage
Richard Williams is a former American professional baseball executive and the former president of baseball operations of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball. Before his promotion, announced on December 27, 2016, he was the Reds' senior vice president and general manager.
Chaim David Bloom is an American sports executive. He has been named the successor to John Mozeliak as president of baseball operations for the St. Louis Cardinals after the 2025 season. He began his career in Major League Baseball in 2005 with the Tampa Bay Rays, reaching the title of Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations. Between 2020 and 2023, Bloom was Chief Baseball Officer for the Boston Red Sox. Following the 2023 season, Bloom joined the Cardinals as an adviser to Mozeliak.