Frank Cashen, who built Mets into World Series champs, dies at 88

Frank Cashen, 88, the general manager who wore a signature bow tie and fashioned a New York Mets team that rollicked its way to the 1986 World Series championship, died Monday at a hospital in Easton, Md., the Mets said.

Cashen was a longtime sportswriter in his hometown of Baltimore and went to law school before joining the Orioles and eventually becoming their general manager.

The Orioles won two World Series titles under Cashen, but it was in New York that he put his stamp on a franchise. Hired in 1980, Cashen transformed the last-place Mets into a team that became the most dominant force in baseball. He made the trades that brought star first baseman Keith Hernandez and future Hall of Famer Gary Carter to the Mets, and oversaw the draft picks of Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden.

He also hired his former second baseman in Baltimore, Davey Johnson, to be the Mets’ manager.

In 1986, the Mets powered their way to 108 victories, won a tough playoff series with Houston and rallied past Boston to win the World Series in seven games.

Cashen left the Mets after a fifth-place finish in 1991. He remained close to the team and was the interim general manager several years later.

Cashen also worked as an executive in Major League Baseball.

Born in 1925, John Francis Cashen graduated in 1945 from what was then Loyola College in Baltimore, where he played second base for the school’s baseball team. He worked for the Baltimore News American for 17 years and attended law school at night. He did publicity and promotional work at a Maryland racetrack and oversaw advertising for National Brewing Co. before the owner, Jerry Hoffberger, hired him to run the front office for the Orioles franchise, which he also owned.

Times wire reports

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