Bowa Likely to Succeed Boros in ’87

Ballard Smith, San Diego Padre president, refused to say Friday whether Steve Boros would return as manager in 1987, but sources outside the organization said it is “very likely” Boros will be replaced next week by Larry Bowa, the Padres’ 1986 Triple-A manager.

Smith confirmed that he, Boros and General Manager Jack McKeon met Friday to discuss Boros’ future, and reiterated that there would be no public announcement about Boros until after the World Series.

Also, Smith said McKeon alone will make the managerial decision, though Smith and owner Joan Kroc would have the power to overrule.

“Jack is the head of the baseball operations, and Jack will be making the recommendation as to what he’d like to do with the manager,” Smith said. “Unless there would be some overwhelming objection, we (Smith and Kroc) will go with his recommendation.”

McKeon refused to comment Friday.

Boros, who leaves today on an eight-day cruise to Tahiti, did not return telephone messages. Sources said he will continue to work within the Padre organization, mostly at the developmental level.

Bowa, meanwhile, said Friday that the Padres have not yet contacted him. He was told to wait until after the World Series, so he is not the least bit alarmed.

“I was thinking they’d call maybe Monday or Tuesday (of this coming week),” Bowa said.

Bowa, 41, finished his 16-year major league career in 1985. And this season, his first as a manager, he led the Las Vegas Stars to the Pacific Coast League championship.

Earlier this year, McKeon had said of Bowa: “They (the Las Vegas players) loved him. They knew he was a tough sonofa(gun), but they respected him.”