Cubs Name Frey to Succeed Green

Jim Frey, who managed the 1984 Chicago Cubs to the club’s first title since 1945, will leave the broadcast booth he occupied last season and take over as the team’s director of baseball operations.

Frey, 56, replaces Dallas Green, who resigned last month as president and general manager.

“We talked to many people and there was only one choice: Jim Frey,” said John R. Madigan, the Tribune Co. executive who assumed the role of chairman after Green’s departure.

Said Frey: “I’ve had a great relationship with the Cubs. Like everybody else in Chicago, I was disappointed at what happened to the ballclub (last season). It doesn’t mean everybody is a bad player. We need some changes.”

Frey’s first job will be to find a manager. Gene Michael, who replaced Frey in 1986, resigned in September, and Frank Lucchesi served as interim manager until the end of the season.