McKeon Makes Room for Riddoch : Padres: Moments after he had turned over the manager’s job to Greg Riddoch, Trader Jack was on the phone in his other job swinging a deal and promising more to come.

The Padre press conference--announcing that coach Greg Riddoch was replacing Jack McKeon immediately as manager--had barely concluded Wednesday when McKeon quietly disappeared through a side door.

Surely, he was looking for a place to be alone, right? Perhaps in this emotional time he was leaving to be with his wife, Carol. Maybe he was calling his family.

So much for sentiment.

Just 15 minutes later, McKeon was sitting behind his desk as vice president/baseball operations, holding a cigar with one hand and a telephone receiver with the other, talking trade with any general manager who would listen.

It took less than an hour for him to make his first deal since returning upstairs--sending triple-A center fielder Alex Cole to Cleveland for left-handed hitting catcher Tom Lampkin--and he promised at least one major trade before his cigar box runs empty.

And he never wants to put on another uniform as long as he lives.

“This is where I belong, this is where I always wanted to be,” McKeon said. “This is where I can best help the team. I’m sorry I had to go out with the record (37-43) we did, but we just didn’t produce, and I don’t know why. I beat my head up against the wall night after night wondering why.

“But I take full blame. I take full responsibility. I’m not going to hide. We just didn’t play like I thought we would, and I’m responsible for that.

“I’m not going to apologize for anything, but I never wanted to be a long-term manager. I just wanted to bring continuity to the team. But I was worn out, believe me. I was cheating myself, and I was cheating the organization.

“Maybe a change like this will shake things up.”

Said Carol, his wife of 36 years: “It’s still hard for me to believe. I was in shock when he called last night, and I’m still in shock. I was at one of those stop-smoking places when he called the house, and as soon as I heard the news, what do I do, I picked up a cigarette and started smoking again. . . .

“You know, we never wanted him to go down (to manage) in the first place, but once he did, I think we all wanted him to go out winning a pennant. That’s where I’m disappointed.”

McKeon became manager May 28, 1988, after firing Larry Bowa. He was 193-164 during his two-plus seasons, a .541 winning percentage, the best in Padre history. Managing in parts of eight major league seasons in Kansas City, Oakland and San Diego, he was 479-474 and never won a division title.

Padre chairman Tom Werner, who began contemplating a change this past weekend, telephoned McKeon on Monday and asked who should be his successor. McKeon didn’t hesitate, telling him Riddoch was the best candidate on his staff.

Werner telephoned Riddoch at his Greeley, Colo., home, where he was spending the All-Star break, and asked him to fly to his Los Angeles home for dinner. Riddoch was interviewed during dinner and returned to Greeley that night.

Tuesday morning, Werner decided Riddoch was the man. He arranged for Riddoch to fly into Los Angeles again and this time requested the presence of McKeon, who skipped the All-Star Game and took a 4 p.m. flight from Chicago. The job was offered, and Riddoch, who had not managed since 1981 and never at a higher level than the Class A Northwest League, became the 13th manager in Padre history.

Riddoch, 44, was provided a new contract for the remainder of the season, and the Padres have an option for him in 1991. He was earning about $60,000 as a coach but will receive a raise of about $100,000, sources said. Although the job is not on an interim basis, it was made clear to Riddoch that he will be evaluated at the end of the season.

“I’m the manager, not the interim manager,” Riddoch said, “and I’m going to make it as hard on these people as conceivably can be for them to get rid of me.”

Riddoch, a popular choice among the players, made it clear in his first minutes on the job that it would be his team. He fired hitting coach Amos Otis and replaced him with Jack Maloof, the Padres’ minor league hitting instructor. He also hired Rob Picciolo, their minor league fielding instructor, to replace himself on the coaching staff at first.

“I think this was a good move,” right fielder Tony Gwynn said. “I think everybody knows what he’s done for me, and he’s done a whole lot for a lot of guys in here. I respect the man.”

Although the Padres’ disappointing first half certainly helped trigger the move, it was McKeon’s feelings, more than anything else, that led Werner to the decision.

McKeon, in a private July 2 meeting with Werner, requested that he leave the field as quickly as possible and assume the sole role of general manager. Werner said he would take the request under advisement but did not plan an immediate change.

But when McKeon’s request was reported in a story in The Times on July 3, it accelerated the process. McKeon addressed his team in a meeting before that day’s home game against Pittsburgh to squelch the report, telling the players he would remain the rest of the season. But it was too late. The damage had been done. Werner had to make a move.

“From the standpoint on what was happening in the clubhouse, everybody was expecting a change,” said Pat Dobson, Padre pitching coach. “And when that didn’t happen right away--I’m not saying it was a disappointment, but it left everybody in limbo.”

The Padres kept losing, dropping nine of 11 games before the All-Star break, and more and more players were expressing their dissatisfaction by the day.

“We had to make a change,” one player said, “because we weren’t going anywhere under Jack. It was a circus, an absolute circus. It was a country club atmosphere. Guys didn’t even care any more.

“Our batting practice was a joke. And infield, whenever we took it, was a joke.”

But the player demanded anonymity, saying, “They don’t call him Trader Jack for nothing. He may not be down here any more, but that doesn’t stop him from trading us.”

Several players, also expressing an anonymous viewpoint for the same reason, said problems were also caused by a June, 1989, team meeting, at which McKeon publicly chastised catcher Benito Santiago, and Santiago responded angrily and obscenely.

“We just kept sitting there, waiting for Jack to do something, but he didn’t do a thing,” one player said. “We couldn’t believe Benny could say that to a manager and get away with it. I mean, he wasn’t even benched. Nothing.

“After that happened, I think a lot of guys around here knew they could get away with whatever they wished, and believe me, a few guys did.”

McKeon--who did not receive a contract extension but will continue being paid $400,000 this season and $400,000 through the 1991 season--was well aware of this constant criticism that he was too lenient. He said he didn’t understand this need for motivating $3-million players, that being in a major league uniform should be enough inducement.

Riddoch, a former psychology teacher who also has a master’s degree in education administration, is not promising miracles but says he does understand the wants and needs of today’s major league players.

“Today’s player wants to know the advantage of doing it your way, or the way you are suggesting,” Riddoch said. “You better be able to sell them. . . . We need to play baseball like we did as kids, for the love of the game.”

Riddoch was the only man interviewed for the job, Werner said, although Dobson also was considered a viable candidate. But Dobson has a close relationship with Riddoch, and showed no bitterness.

“No, I’m not disappointed,” Dobson said. “It’s obvious a change had to be made, and when you’ve been through the wars like Greg, he’s very qualified to do the job. I told Greg all along that I thought he’d get the job before I did. It’s a lot more sensible for him to do the job than for me to do it and also try to handle my pitching staff.”

Dobson, 48, still would like to be a major league manager and will continue to manage once again in the Senior League this winter. He secretly signed a contract extension in December, according to sources in the Major League Players Assn., that will pay him $75,000 in 1990 and 1991.

Otis, meanwhile, said that he immediately will begin looking for a job in another organization. He has been the Padres’ batting coach the past three seasons and said that his dismissal was not a surprise.

“When guys start bringing in their old batting coaches to help them,” Otis said, referring to Joe Carter summoning Bobby Bonds for help, “you know something’s up. I’m not bitter. This is part of business. A new manager wants his own people, and I’m an easy target.”

Padre Notes

The Padres will purchase the contract of third baseman Eddie Williams today from triple-A Las Vegas and are expected to make room for him by optioning backup catcher Ronn Reynolds to triple-A Las Vegas. The Padres acquired catcher Tom Lampkin from the Cleveland Indians’ triple-A roster Wednesday afternoon, and he’s expected to be Mark Parent’s backup while All-Star Benito Santiago recovers from his broken left arm. Utility infielder Joey Cora was optioned to Las Vegas to make room for Lampkin.

THE NEW PADRE COACHES

Jack Maloof, hitting--He moves up from minor league hitting instructor to replace Amos Otis, who was fired Wednesday. Maloof was in his fifth year helping hitters throughout the minor league system. Before that, he managed as high as the double-A level for the Padres and won a Texas League championship with Wichita in 1983. He never played in the majors despite a lifetime professional average of .302. After being drafted out of LaVerne College in 1971, he batted .402 with Auburn of the New York-Penn League and was named Topps minor league player of the year. He finished his playing career with the Seibu Lions in Japan in 1979.

Rob Picciolo, first base--Was in his third year as minor league fielding instructor after two seasons as manager of the Padres’ Spokane affiliate. In his second year at Spokane, he was named Northwest League manager of the year after the Indians won the championship with a 54-22 record. His major league playing career spanned nine seasons, including a full rookie year of 148 games at shortstop for Oakland in 1977. He also played for Milwaukee and California, then returned to Oakland for the 1985 season before retiring. Picciolo is a graduate of Pepperdine.