Jeter fires McKeon, other Marlins execs
Fourteen years later, Derek Jeter is getting his revenge.
While his part-ownership of the Marlins isn’t even official yet, Jeter already is getting to work by axing four executives, including two who were big parts of the Marlins team that beat the Yankees in the 2003 World Series.
Jeter has told the team he is firing the four special assistants, according to the Miami Herald, including former player Jeff Conine (known as Mr. Marlin) and ex-manager Jack McKeon in addition to a pair of Hall of Famers, Andre Dawson and Tony Perez. McKeon was the manager of that 2003 Marlins team and Conine batted .333 in the World Series win over the Yankees as a DH and left fielder.
The four had long been serving as special assistants to Marlins president David Samson and owner Jeffrey Loria.
Jeter, part of an ownership group closing in on the $1.2 billion purchase of the team, spared any pleasantries as he asked Samson on Wednesday to fire the four executives, only after telling Samson himself that he would not be returning as president. “Sure I’m sad,” McKeon told the Herald. “No question you’re sad. I’m disappointed, but you understand. A new regime is coming in and they want their new people in there. You can’t fault them with that.”
According to the Herald, Major League Baseball has scheduled a conference call for the first week of October, when owners will vote on the team’s sale.