Davey Johnson Appears to Be Front-Runner

Persuaded by strong endorsements of Davey Johnson from throughout the major leagues, the Dodgers are leaning toward hiring Johnson to manage the ballclub, instead of Kevin Kennedy, and an announcement is expected this week, baseball sources said Wednesday.

Dodger General Manager Kevin Malone, attending the World Series, has been deluged by support for Johnson the past few days. Leading baseball executives and decision makers are backing Johnson, who guided the New York Mets to the 1986 World Series championship.

Malone remains noncommittal, saying that the Dodgers “are still trying to decide between two great candidates.” But sources said Malone has been impressed by comments made by many of his advisors, who are encouraging him to hire Johnson, and that Malone immediately targeted Johnson as his No. 1 candidate after Felipe Alou declined the position.

Believing that Alou, the respected Montreal Expo manager, might remain in Canada, sources say Malone privately had Johnson waiting in the wings and that Malone has had many conversations with people close to Johnson for months.

Dodger sources said Malone is torn because he believes Kennedy would be a fine choice, but he can’t ignore Johnson’s outstanding record, which also includes four division titles. Moreover, Malone’s Dodger and Fox Group superiors are impressed by Johnson’s accomplishments, creating an atmosphere of support for Johnson within the organization.

Malone has declined to indicate when an announcement might occur, but the Dodgers hope to resolve the situation by early next week at the latest. Malone would prefer to have his new field leader in place this week because the organizational meetings begin Wednesday at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Fla.

The Dodgers had offered Alou a three-year package worth about $3.6 million but were outbid by the Expos. The Dodgers’ next offer is expected to be for two years at about $1 million annually.

A source who had a lengthy conversation with Malone this week said that the Dodger player-personnel chief still “has issues” with Johnson from their days together in the Baltimore Oriole organization, but that Malone acknowledged that Johnson’s ability is unquestioned. Johnson delegates a lot of responsibility to his coaching staff, which sources said concerns Malone.

But Malone presumably is willing to hire Johnson because Johnson has been among the game’s biggest winners while managing the Mets, Cincinnati Reds and Orioles in 10 full seasons.

President Bob Graziano and Malone have consulted with Peter Chernin and Chase Carey--co-chief operating officers of Fox Group’s parent company, News Corp.--about an upcoming announcement. Sources close to Graziano have also spoken with him on Johnson’s behalf.

However, Graziano will support Malone if he ultimately feels compelled to hire Kennedy, his longtime friend and former colleague with the Montreal Expos. Likewise, Chernin and Carey won’t overrule their new general manager in his first major decision because they trust Malone.