Late News Bulletin: Virgil Out : Firing of Coach Leads to Speculation About Williams

Eighteen days ago, Padre general manager Jack McKeon called Ozzie Virgil, his third base coach, and said: “We’ve decided not to sign you at this time.” Virgil reportedly said, “Does that mean I’m fired?”

McKeon said: “Yes.”

Well, that was that. The Padres didn’t bother to tell anyone about it, and McKeon defended himself Sunday, saying: “I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

But isn’t it? Because Manager Dick Williams never was consulted on the matter and because Virgil is considered to be one of Williams’ men and because Williams has not been given the contract extension he’s been seeking, the tendency is to think: Isn’t Williams the next to go?

Again, the Padres laughed at this thinking. Padre President Ballard Smith, reached at home Sunday night, said: “This is another example of the media making a story out of nothing. I really have no comment on it.”

Still, there’s much confusion. McKeon, who says he made the decision not to keep Virgil, won’t give a reason why.

“There’s no particular reason,” McKeon said Sunday. “Let’s put it this way. We had to make a decision, and we decided to make a change. That’s all we’ve got to say. It was in our best interest to make a change.”

Virgil, who currently is managing in Venezuela, did not return phone messages. However, someone close to Virgil, who asked not to be identified, said Sunday: “He’s not coming back because Dick’s not coming back. They’ve been trying to fire Dick.

“Actually, they’re hoping (Williams) will quit, but he won’t so they’ll end up having to fire him. Dick’s not coming back. He says no way he’s coming back with Ozzie gone now. And they won’t say why they did this? Well, why do you think? To get back at Dick. Ozzie’s his right hand man.

“Dick didn’t even know Ozzie was fired. He was away on a cruise. I called Dick’s son (Mark) and said, ‘Did you hear about Ozzie?’ He said, ‘You’re kidding.’ Every one of the coaches had been told they were coming back. Watch. I think they’ll fire Dick before the season starts.”

Williams was not at home Sunday night, but Smith, when alerted of those quotes, said: “That’s so ridiculous, I won’t comment.”

McKeon did say Sunday that he would have consulted Williams had Williams been in San Diego. But with Nov. 15 being the day unsigned coaches are free to negotiate with any team, McKeon didn’t think it was fair to leave the coaches hanging. So, he decided to go ahead and make a decision. All the coaches would be back except Virgil, although a close look was taken at bullpen coach Harry Dunlop. Dunlop, McKeon said, will be back, but possibly in a different capacity.

Virgil, meanwhile, might soon sign with the San Francisco Giants. Manager Roger Craig, for instance, recently asked McKeon about Virgil. Also, it’s possible that Steve Boros, the Padre coordinator of minor league instruction, could replace Virgil on the Padre staff, although McKeon said he might not replace Virgil and just move first base coach Jack Krol to third.

Krol was St. Louis’ third base coach for four seasons, and also handled those chores for the 1981 Padres.