Malone Out on Force Play

Kevin Malone was forced out as general manager of the Dodgers on Wednesday because of a three-year pattern of roster mistakes and embarrassing situations, and the team selected Dave Wallace as interim general manager, The Times has learned.

Chairman Bob Daly and President Bob Graziano informed Malone of their decision in an afternoon meeting, baseball sources said, then persuaded Wallace, a special assistant to Malone, to run the baseball operations.

Wallace, who returned to the organization in December, will assist Graziano in a search for a permanent replacement.

John Hart, general manager of the Cleveland Indians, is the top candidate on the Dodgers’ list, sources said.

They might face competition from the Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles for Hart, who announced he would hand the general manager’s reins to assistant Mark Shapiro at the end of the season.

With the team playing at San Francisco, the Dodgers plan to announce the moves today in a conference call with reporters.

Derrick Hall, senior vice president, issued the only statement on behalf of the organization, saying “the timing of an announcement [of Malone’s status] has not yet been determined.”

But sources said Daly and Graziano reached their decision after Malone acknowledged he challenged a San Diego Padre season-ticket holder to a fight during Saturday’s game at Qualcomm Stadium because the fan, Jim Esterbrooks, heckled Gary Sheffield.

That was the final straw for the club’s main decision-makers, who, many in the organization believe, should have fired Malone at the end of last season.

Malone, signed through the 2002 season, was offered an opportunity to resign, but it was unclear late Wednesday whether he accepted.

He was in the third year of a contract that paid him $500,000 a year, and club options could have extended the deal to 2004.

Malone, whose representative negotiated a buyout, did not return phone messages.

Wallace, 53, returned to the organization after three years with the New York Mets, the last two as pitching coach.

He was with the Dodgers for 17 years in his first stint, serving as pitching coach from 1995-97.

Since December, Wallace had taken charge of the farm system and assisted Malone while also working with pitchers in the majors and minors.

He is building a home in Vero Beach, Fla., the club’s new minor league hub, and is not interested in keeping his new job.

“I’ve made it known that I am not interested in managing, I am not interested in being a general manager,” Wallace told The Times in a recent interview. “I’ve made that clear [privately] and I want to make that clear [publicly].

“I enjoy having input to players on the field and being in uniform with the players. I enjoy bringing to the table whatever it is that one brings while interacting with the staff. I just want to help.”

The Dodgers ended their relationship with Malone about six months after they fired former manager Davey Johnson, reinforcing their unstable image under Fox, and word about the expected move spread quickly.

Executives who have known Malone, 43, since his days as a scout expressed remorse about his ouster, though none were surprised because his brief tenure was marked by missteps.

“We all know that at some point we’re not going to hold these positions and the game will go on, but any time one of your peers loses his job you certainly feel for him,” Met General Manager Steve Phillips said. “I know Kevin personally, and I obviously feel for him and his family.

“Kevin was aggressive in his pursuit of players and he was always professional in dealing with me. I know Kevin put his heart and soul into the job, and he has passion and love for this game.

“I know some people might have certain feelings about Kevin, but I have nothing but respect for him. I consider him to be a friend and I’m very disappointed to hear this.”

Said Padre General Manager Kevin Towers: “There are a lot of aspects to this job other than the baseball decisions, and you have to act professionally. You’re a leader of people, you’re looked to in the community, and people look to you for direction. How you conduct yourself in the public eye . . . you have to conduct yourself in an appropriate manner.”

Malone was no stranger to controversy, and the incident in San Diego was the final straw for Daly and Graziano.

They had supported Malone despite moves that increased the payroll to $110 million--the highest opening-day total in the major leagues--and subjected the Dodgers to ridicule nationally.

In November, the Pacific 10 Conference investigated a phone call from Malone to the telephone answering machine of UCLA basketball recruit Jamal Sampson of Santa Ana Mater Dei High.

UCLA Coach Steve Lavin, whom Malone has said he considers a close friend, said he mistakenly gave Sampson’s number to Malone instead of youth coach Pat Barrett’s.

By making the phone call--inadvertently or not--Malone inserted himself into the recruiting process and might have made himself a representative of UCLA’s athletic interests. Sampson signed with California.

The Pac-10 ruled that the call was a secondary recruiting violation.

Malone was criticized within baseball for his seemingly brash comments regarding the Dodgers’ supposed return to prominence under Fox.

And Malone, shortly after having been hired in September 1998, offended his National League West counterparts with a flippant remark about there being a “new sheriff in town” and engaging in a public feud with Towers.

“I know how difficult the job is,” Towers said. “I don’t want any one of the other 29 GMs to lose his job because families are impacted and kids are impacted. It’s a very competitive business and we all say things. I’ve known Kevin Malone for a long time, I’ve known him since he was a scout, and I don’t think he’s a bad person.

“I think that deep down inside he’s a good person with a good heart. Maybe he felt that was the way Fox wanted it when he came in, you know, to make brash statements. But if you make strong statements like that, you have to be able to back it up.”

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GIANTS: 5

DODGERS: 4

Rich Aurilia and Barry Bonds homered on consecutive pitches in the seventh inning as the Giants wiped out a 4-2 Dodger lead. Bonds’ homer was his sixth in six games. D8