More Minority Management Predicted

Commissioner Peter Ueberroth predicted Tuesday that baseball would have more minority field managers by next season and that there may be one or two minority general managers by that time.

Speaking on ABC’s “Nightline,” Ueberroth gave baseball a grade of incomplete for its efforts to hire more minorities for off-the-field jobs.

“All in all, there’ll be a lot more in baseball,” Ueberroth said of minorities in management. “I think baseball will set a standard.”

Ueberroth added that while some clubs, such as the Baltimore Orioles, were taking the lead in hiring more minorites, some clubs were resisting the push.

Ueberroth didn’t identify which clubs might be dragging, but Jim (Mudcat) Grant, who appeared on the program along with Harry Edwards, a special assistant to the commissioner for minority hiring, mentioned the Angels.

“We would like to see some managers in the minor league system,” Grant said. “We would like to see some front-office personnel at the ballpark in Anaheim.”

The Angels, however, have the only minority manager in the majors--Cookie Rojas, a native of Cuba.