Banister fired as manager of Rangers
The Texas Rangers fired manager Jeff Banister on Friday after the team stumbled to its first consecutive losing records in 10 years after winning AL West titles in each of his first two seasons.
Texas announced the move with 10 games left in Banister’s fourth season.
In a season when the focus turned to the development of their younger players, the Rangers had a 64-88 record heading into the Friday night’s game against Seattle to open the final home series of the year. They had lost four in a row and 11 of 15.
Bench coach Don Wakamatsu will serve as interim manager for the remainder of the season, starting with the three-game series against the Mariners.
General manager Jon Daniels said he informed the 54-year-old Banister of the decision on Thursday, a day off for the team. Banister was under contract through next season.
“This was not an easy decision and comes after a long period of evaluation. However, we feel that a change in the leadership of our major-league club is necessary as we move forward,” Daniels said.
Banister was hired in November 2014 to replace Ron Washington, the manager who led the Rangers to their only World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011 before his abrupt resignation for personal reasons late in the 2014 season. Banister had a 325-313 record in his first managerial job.
Cubs’ Russell placed on leave: Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell was placed on administrative leave Friday following fresh allegations of domestic violence by his ex-wife.
Last year, Melisa Reidy posted a photo on her Instagram account with a caption suggesting her husband of about 18 months had been unfaithful to her. In another post, a user – described by Melisa as a close friend – made the accusation that Russell had “hit” his wife. The post was later deleted. Russell denied the allegation and the two were soon divorced.
Late Thursday, a blog post attributed to Reidy contained more detailed allegations, including years of physical and emotional abuse.
Less than 12 hours later, Major League Baseball announced Russell’s leave in accordance with the MLB-MLB Players Association domestic violence policy.