Mariners name Bill Bavasi as GM

Dodgers farm director Bill Bavasi, who was on the other end of one of the crowning moments in Mariners history, has been named the club's new general manager, ending a five-week search.

Bavasi, 45, succeeds Pat Gillick, who resigned Sept. 30.

"This is a tremendous opportunity and honor for me,'' Bavasi said. "I am looking forward to getting to work immediately.''

The other two finalists for the job were Detroit assistant GM Al Avila, and Mariners vice president Benny Looper.

"Today is a very exciting day for the Mariners,'' said Howard Lincoln, Mariners CEO. "While we considered many very qualified individuals, Bill was our top pick and we believe he is the best person to lead the club.''

As Angels GM in 1995, Bavasi suffered through Seattle's comeback from a 13-game deficit to win the AL West title. But Bavasi, who became the Dodgers' director of player development in 2002, watched the foundation of the Angels team he had built win the World Series last year.

Acknowledging Bavasi's role in building the Angels, his successor, Bill Stoneman, invited Bavasi and his longtime scouting director, Bob Fontaine, to attend the World Series, which the Angels won in seven games over San Francisco.

During Bavasi's 16-year tenure in Anaheim as farm director, assistant GM and GM, the Angels acquired and developed Troy Percival, Troy Glaus, Darin Erstad, Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson, Bengie Molina, Jarrod Washburn, John Lackey, Ramon Ortiz and Francisco Rodriguez.

Bavasi, who spent six seasons as the Angels' GM, resigned under pressure after the 1999 season, in which the Angels finished 70-92, 25 games out of first place.

Bavasi is the son of Buzzie Bavasi, who was GM of the Dodgers from 1950-68, winning four World Series titles, and later ran the Padres and Angels. His brother, Peter, was once president of the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians, and another brother, Bob, was the longtime owner of Everett's minor-league team.

Bill Bavasi, who served on the Padres' grounds crew as a teenager, once told the Orange County Register, "I think I've reached where I am today because of my ability. But there's no question I was hired originally because of one thing: my last name."

That first job was as a baseball administrator for the Angels in 1980. He became the director of minor-league operations in 1984, holding that job until he became the Angels' assistant GM in 1993.

When Whitey Herzog resigned after the '93 season, Bavasi, at 36, became the youngest GM in the major leagues. One of his first big moves was signing Bo Jackson. One of his final moves was signing Mo Vaughn to a six-year, $80 million contract.

He fired popular manager Buck Rodgers 39 games into the '94 season and replaced him with Marcel Lachemann. He later hired Terry Collins midway through the '96 season to replace Lachemann, who resigned.

During his six years, the Angels finished in second place three times, contending strongly for division titles in '95, '97 and '98. But the team plummeted in '99, with players openly complaining about Collins, who resigned in September.

According to published reports, Bavasi stepped down after the season because of differences of philosophy with team president Tony Tavares, who wanted him to make sweeping changes to the organization.

"The fact is, it's not a crime to have different styles of management, and we do," Bavasi said on the day he resigned.

Bavasi and his wife, Tracy, have two children: Kyle and Katie.

"Bill is extremely well-respected throughout baseball,'' said M's president Chuck Armstrong. "I am very excited about the passion and leadership he will bring to our organization.''

Bavasi is the seventh GM in Mariners history, following: Lou Gorman, 1977-80; Dan O'Brien, 1981-83; Hal Keller, 1984-85; Dick Balderson, 1986-88; Woody Woodward, 1988-99; and Pat Gillick, 2000-03.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com