Padres to Name McIlvaine as New GM

Joe McIlvaine will be named the Padres’ vice president/baseball operations, sources within the organization said Sunday, and will sign what is believed to be a five-year contract that will pay him an estimated $1.6 million.

An announcement could be made a soon as today, one highly placed club source said.

McIlvaine, who is expected to begin working for the Padres immediately, resigned Friday from his position as the New York Mets’ vice president/baseball operations, sources said. The announcement was delayed because ofthe Mets’ involvement in the pennant race, which ended Sunday when they were eliminated by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

McIlvaine refused comment Sunday, as did Padre Chairman Tom Werner.

The hire is considered a coup for the Padre new ownership group, headed by Werner. He previously had been denied permission to interview general managers Andy MacPhail of the Minnesota Twins and David Dombrowski of the Montreal Expos.

McIlvaine, 42, long has been considered a top general manager candidates, but since turning down an offer to take that job for the Cleveland Indians in 1985, he has discouraged interest.

He since has grown weary of the New York life style and impatient with the media’s constant criticism. McIlvaine, who attended St. Charles Seminary in Philadelphia, was particularly incensed, friends said, over a recent column in a New York tabloid that said: “Here’s a guy who gave up God for baseball.”

McIlvaine was contacted by the Padres in August, sources said, but he was unwilling to be interviewed because Jack McKeon still the team’s vice president/baseball operations.

Still, his interest was aroused. He met privately with Padre Manager Greg Riddoch the night of Aug. 20 and had a 45-minute conversation before a game at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium with Padre outfielder Shawn Abner, whom he selected first in the 1984 draft.

“I remember talking with him one night, and he was asking a lot of questions about San Diego,” Abner said. “He was saying what a great place this was and what a beautiful area it would be to live.”

“Then he said, ‘You know, you’d have to be crazy to turn down a chance to work in a place like this.’

“I thought that was kind of funny for him to say at the time, but now, it makes sense.”

McIlvaine also began asking questions of at least two Padre officials during their two-game series Aug. 28-29 in New York. Werner, perhaps not coincidentally, also met the team in New York.

Still, when the hiring process began, McIlvaine was not on the list, one Padre owner said Sunday, because of his refusal to be interviewed.

“Joe had real trouble talking with us,” said the owner, who requested anonymity, “because Jack was still with us. I think he felt funny talking to us when we already had a general manager.”

The Padres instead secretly began interviewing other candidates, five in all, but still held out hope that McIlvaine would be willing to talk. Werner telephoned McIlvaine about 2 1/2 weeks ago, according to the owner, and told him of the decision to fire McKeon.

McIlvaine took a flight to California last week to interview, he said Saturday in a telephone interview, and according to sources, he accepted the offer Friday. He will be provided total autonomy in baseball operations, the owner said, and report directly to Werner.

It’s expected to be just the beginning of a complete revamping of the Padre front office, a wide-ranging sweep of all departments.

Club officials said Sunday that the Padres have already fired five employees in the baseball operations: Harry Dunlop, coordinator of minor league instruction; Dick Hager, National League scout; Bill McKeon, American League scout; Vince Valece, scout, and Joe Lutz, scout.

“I think it’s going to be the beginning of a whole new, great era,” Riddoch said, referring to the likelihood that McIlvaine would be hired. “To me, it signifies a new direction and where we’ll go. Hopefully, he’ll lead us to the promised land.

“It’s going to be real nice having a new boss.”

Certainly, there will be other changes as well, particularly on the field. The Padres (74-85 despite a three-game sweep of the Reds) are guaranteed of finishing with their second-worst record since the 1981 strike season. They could have as much as a 50% turnover in players before opening day, 1991.

“There’s no question we need some help, and the quicker the better,” said Padre pitcher Ed Whitson, who was given permission to finish his season three days early, leaving the club Sunday morning for his Dublin, Ohio, home. “There’s no way we can come back with this same team intact.

“And to tell you the truth, not one of us would want to, either.”

This is precisely why the Padres sought McIlvaine, believing he can turn around the troubled franchise. McIlvaine was in charge of all baseball operations in New York, and since he was promoted in 1985 to vice president, the Mets have won one World Series championship, two division titles and never have finished lower than second.

Perhaps most impressive, it was done without the benefit of a single free agent. McIlvaine instead built the Mets through scouting and development, drafting such players as Dwight Gooden, Gregg Jefferies, Kevin Elster, Keith Miller and Dave Magadan. He also helped create a farm system that was so powerful, he was able to trade mostly prospects in acquiring Frank Viola, David Cone, Bob Ojeda, Kevin McReynolds and Tim Teufel.

With a resume like that, it’s little wonder the Padres’ search for a general manager stopped with McIlvaine.