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Austin
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ESPN -- Frank Cashen, the architect of the 1986 world champion New York Mets, died today in a Maryland hospital. He was 88.
Cashen served as Mets general manager from 1980 through 1991, transforming the organization from a perennial loser into a juggernaut.
The Mets owned the best record in Major League Baseball during Cashen's final eight seasons, compiling a 743-550 mark from 1984 to 1991.
The bowtie-wearing GM engineered the June 15, 1983, trade that brought Keith Hernandez from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Mets. He also invigorated a farm system that produced Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry.
"Frank was our leader," Strawberry said Monday. "I always admired the way he put together our team. He mixed young guys, like me and Doc [Gooden], with guys like [Gary] Carter and Hernandez. He was able to find the perfect blend to build a championship."
Cashen regularly attended spring training games in Port St. Lucie, Florida, even through this March.
"I had dinner with Frank every spring ever since I came back with the Mets," said former Mets infielder Wally Backman, who now manages the Las Vegas 51s. "He was a great baseball man. I liked to bounce ideas off of him. He was one of a kind."
Cashen previously served as an executive with the Baltimore Orioles when they won titles in 1966 and 1970.
He is survived by his wife, Jean, seven children and nine grandchildren.
Cashen served as Mets general manager from 1980 through 1991, transforming the organization from a perennial loser into a juggernaut.
The Mets owned the best record in Major League Baseball during Cashen's final eight seasons, compiling a 743-550 mark from 1984 to 1991.
The bowtie-wearing GM engineered the June 15, 1983, trade that brought Keith Hernandez from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Mets. He also invigorated a farm system that produced Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry.
"Frank was our leader," Strawberry said Monday. "I always admired the way he put together our team. He mixed young guys, like me and Doc [Gooden], with guys like [Gary] Carter and Hernandez. He was able to find the perfect blend to build a championship."
Cashen regularly attended spring training games in Port St. Lucie, Florida, even through this March.
"I had dinner with Frank every spring ever since I came back with the Mets," said former Mets infielder Wally Backman, who now manages the Las Vegas 51s. "He was a great baseball man. I liked to bounce ideas off of him. He was one of a kind."
Cashen previously served as an executive with the Baltimore Orioles when they won titles in 1966 and 1970.
He is survived by his wife, Jean, seven children and nine grandchildren.
