Howser Says He’s Not Up to Managing : He Resigns as Royal Skipper; Billy Gardner Given the Job

Manager Dick Howser of the Kansas City Royals, who wanted to return to his job this spring after surgery last summer for a malignant brain tumor, decided Monday that he just wasn’t up to it.

“Well, I found out yesterday I couldn’t do it,” Howser said during a news conference at Terry Park, site of the Royals’ spring training camp. “I’m just not going to try to do it, that’s all.”

Royal officials named Billy Gardner, hired last fall as a coach, as his successor.

“I’ve been pushing and pushing since the first operation in Kansas City and the second operation in Los Angeles,” Howser said. “It’s not really devastating. It’s just that I need more time to rest. I can’t do it like this.”

Howser put on his Royal uniform Saturday for the first time since managing the American League team in the All-Star game last year. It was the first day of spring training, and Howser appeared thin and tired, his uniform hanging on him.

In interviews, he insisted that he was capable of managing the team but conceded that he would step down if it became too much.

With temperatures in the low 80s Sunday, Howser missed a substantial part of the day’s workout.

“I think that’s what got me was the heat,” he said later. “If we could put it on something, let’s put it on the heat.”

Howser said he already had decided to bow out when he went back to the park Monday morning. After sitting for an hour on a bullpen bench, he left the field for good.

“My mind had been made up,” he said. “I wouldn’t have walked off the field like that if my mind hadn’t been made up. I knew when I went back in the training room it was over.”

Royal officials had said when they hired Gardner, former manager of the Minnesota Twins, as a third base coach last fall that he would take over if Howser proved unable to continue as manager.

“Dick is a fighter, a competitor,” Gardner said. “He just tried to come back too soon.

“If he’s ever better to come back and manage, he can have it and step back in. That’s how much I respect the guy.”

Said Howser: “I’d like to thank (President) Joe Burke and (General Manager) John Schuerholz and everybody connected with the organization.

“I’d like to thank my wife (Nancy). She’s been behind me like you people wouldn’t know. When I told her yesterday what happened, I could see a gleeful look in her eye.”

Howser, 50, plans to serve with the Royals in some capacity. Burke said that he and Howser will determine those duties later.

“I’m going to be putting on the uniform part-time,” Howser said. “I’ll do whatever they want me to do part-time.”

Dean Vogelaar, Royal spokesman, said that after the news conference, Howser called the players together, told them of his decision and introduced Gardner.

“He told them he was going to hang it up and wished them all luck,” Vogelaar said. “He said, ‘I know you’re going to have some tough spots, but don’t let it get you down.’ ”

Howser led the Royals to the World Series title in 1985, coming from behind to beat the Toronto Blue Jays in the playoffs and the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. Kansas City rallied from 0-2 and 1-3 to win each series in seven games.

With the Series appearance came the honor of managing the AL team in the 1986 All-Star game. Players and reporters noticed at the time, however, that Howser seemed withdrawn, subdued and confused as he led the league to a 3-2 victory.

Days later, Howser was diagnosed as having a malignant brain tumor. He underwent surgery twice, in Kansas City July 22 and in Los Angeles Dec. 5. Scars from the surgery remained visible when he traveled to Florida, and he wore a cap as his hair continued to grow back from radiation treatments.

Howser, a Miami native, joined the Royals in 1981 after having been fired as manager of the New York Yankees. The Yankees won 103 games under his leadership in 1980 but lost three straight to Kansas City in the playoffs.

In the second game, the Yankees’ Willie Randolph was thrown out trying to score from first on a double. An angry Yankee owner George Steinbrenner ordered Howser to fire third base coach Mike Ferraro for sending the runner home.

When Howser refused, he was fired himself. Later, when the Royals fired Manager Jim Frey during the strike-shortened 1981 season, Howser took over the team that had beaten him in the playoffs.

Ferraro, who himself underwent cancer surgery while managing the Cleveland Indians, was later brought to Kansas City as Howser’s third-base coach. When Howser was hospitalized, Ferraro took over as interim manager and directed the team the rest of the way.

The Royals finished third in the American League West with a 76-86 record, 16 games behind the Angels. Within a week after the season, the Royals fired Ferraro, saying Howser would be back to manage this year.

Howser never managed a team that finished lower than second. After taking over the Royals, he managed the team to the second-half American League West title, then to second-place finishes in 1982 and ’83. His 1984 team won its fifth division title but lost to the eventual World Series champion Detroit Tigers in three straight games.

His major league managerial record, including one game he managed after Billy Martin was fired by the Yankees in 1978, was 507-425, a winning percentage of .544.

DICK HOWSER’S RECORD

Team Year W L Pct. Fin. N.Y. Yankees 1978 0 1 .000 -- N.Y. Yankees 1980 103 59 .636 1 Kansas City 1981-x 20 13 .609 1 Kansas City 1982 90 72 .556 2 Kansas City 1983 79 83 .488 2 Kansas City 1984 84 78 .519 1 Kansas City 1985 91 71 .562 1 Kansas City 1986 40 48 .455 4 Totals 507 425 .544

x-split 1981 season.

AL WESTERN DIVISION PLAYOFF RECORD

Team Year W L Pct. Kansas City 1981 0 3 .000

AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RECORD

Team Year W L Pct. N.Y. Yankees 1980 0 3 .000 N.Y. Yankees 1984 0 3 .000 Kansas City 1985 4 3 .571 Totals 4 9 .308

WORLD SERIES RECORD

Team Year W L Pct. Kansas City 1985 4 3 .571

MANAGERIAL HIGHLIGHTS

1980--Managed the New York Yankees to the best record in baseball and became only the fourth manager in major league history to win 100 games in his rookie season. Lost to the Kansas City Royals in the American League playoffs in three games.

1981--Led the Royals to a 20-13 first-place record in the second half of the split season. Was swept in three games by the Oakland A’s in the Western division playoffs.

1984--Won the division title but was swept again in the AL playoffs, this time by the Detroit Tigers.

1985--Led the Royals to two comebacks in postseason play as Kansas City overcame 3-to-1 game deficits against the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL playoffs and against the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.