James Gottfried Frey (May 26, 1931 – April 12, 2020) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

, and Minor League Baseball (MiLB)

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. In , Frey led the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB) to their first

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

(AL) championship, in his first year with the team. In the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

, they lost to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

, who won their first

championship.

Early career

Frey was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

. He was attended Western Hills High School in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

alongside his lifelong friend Don Zimmer. A left-handed batting-and-throwing outfielder, Frey spent much of his career in the farm systems of the Boston/Milwaukee Braves and St. Louis Cardinals. A recurring arm injury prevented him from his best shot at the big leagues, in . Following the end of Frey's playing career in , he joined the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, secti ...

and MiLB manager. Frey was promoted to the MLB Orioles' coaching staff under Earl Weaver, in 1970, and coached on three AL pennant winners and one

champion through

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

. Jim Palmer called him "one of the great fielder-mover-arounders of all time."

Kansas City Royals

A week after the end of the

1979 World Series The 1979 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1979 season. The 76th edition of the World Series was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Pittsburgh Pirates (98–64) and ...

on October 24, Frey was named to succeed

Whitey Herzog Dorrel Norman Elvert "Whitey" Herzog (; born November 9, 1931) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager, most notable for his Major League Baseball (MLB) managerial career. He made his MLB debut as a player in 1956 ...

as manager of the Kansas City Royals. He led the Royals to a 97–65 mark and the

American League West Division The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...

title in 1980; then, in the 1980 American League Championship Series, the Royals swept their long-time postseason nemesis, the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

, in three straight games to capture the AL title. This served as some sort of revenge for the Yankees having defeated Herzog's Royals for three consecutive seasons (1976–78) in the ALCS. However, the Royals dropped the

to the

in six games. Frey's use of seven pitchers for the whole Series led to short runs for their starters that meant they could not pitch efficently despite batting .290 in the Series. During the strike-marred 1981 season, in which the Royals finished the first half with a 20–30 record, Frey was criticized widely for not taking full advantage of a team built for speed and for failing to motivate his players by Kansas City vice president/general manager Joe Burke. Frey was relieved of his duties on August 31, despite the 10–10 ballclub leading the second-half

American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...

standings. His replacement was Dick Howser, who had lost his managerial job with the Yankees after the previous year's ALCS. Frey's record in just less than two seasons as Royals manager was 127–105.

Chicago Cubs

Frey then returned to the coaching ranks with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

for 1982–83. He was hired by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

for the 1984 season, and again struck paydirt as the Cubs won the division title, earning their first post-season appearance since 1945. During the clubhouse celebration following the division-clinching in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Frey declared, "The monkey's off our back!" The Cubs won the first two games against the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

in the

National League Championship Series The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Nation ...

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...

, before they went to San Diego needing to win just one of the next three games. The Cubs lost the next three games, and many critics blamed Frey for mishandling the pitching staff. Still, the 1984 Cubs are revered among Cubs fans. Ryne Sandberg cited Frey as "the one guy who was extremely instrumental in my career. He saw extra base hits and home runs for me that I didn’t see.” After a trying 1985 season in which the entire five-man starting rotation simultaneously spent time on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

, the Cubs sputtered in 1986. Frey was fired two months into the season and replaced by John Vukovich. The next year, Frey surfaced as a

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...

on the Cubs' WGN Radio broadcasts. In December 1987, the Tribune Co. hired Frey to replace his old boss, general manager Dallas Green, who had resigned two months earlier. Frey hired his lifelong friend, Zimmer, to manage the team, and immediately made his presence felt. Within weeks of his hiring, Frey dealt

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

Lee Smith to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

for journeyman pitchers Al Nipper and

Calvin Schiraldi Calvin Drew Schiraldi (born June 16, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1984 through 1991 for five different teams. He is best remembered as the losing pitcher of Game 6 and ...

, the latter of whom was best known for playing a part in the Red Sox'

1986 World Series The 1986 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1986 season. The 83rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion New York Mets and the Ameri ...

collapse. Frey also traded the popular Keith Moreland to San Diego for closer

Goose Gossage Richard Michael "Goose" Gossage (born July 5, 1951) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1972 and 1994. He pitched for nine different teams, spending his best years with the New Y ...

, who had played a big part on the Padres team that eliminated the Cubs, four years earlier. Neither move worked, and the Cubs were without a closer. Frey made a bold move in the winter of 1988, trading budding star

Rafael Palmeiro Rafael Palmeiro Corrales (born September 24, 1964) is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball first baseman and left fielder. Palmeiro was an All-American at Mississippi State University before being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1985. ...

and young pitcher

Jamie Moyer Jamie Moyer (born November 18, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Over his 25-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Moyer pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Bost ...

to the Texas Rangers for a number of players, including Mitch Williams. The trade appeared to pay off for the Cubs with respect to the 1989 season as Williams saved 36 games, the Cubs won a division title and Moyer and Palmeiro struggled in Texas. But Williams had just one more forgettable year for the Cubs before being traded to Philadelphia in 1991, and Palmeiro and Moyer went on to have productive careers. Following the 1989 campaign, Frey was named co-Executive of the Year by

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 2 ...

(UPI). After a disappointing 1990 season, Frey was active on the

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

market, acquiring former

Toronto Blue Jay The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home gam ...

and American League MVP George Bell, former

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

Danny Jackson Danny Lynn Jackson (born January 5, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1997. He played for the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirate ...

, and former

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

closer Dave Smith. Jackson and Smith flopped in their roles in 1991, and Zimmer was fired – apparently on orders from Tribune Co.

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Donald Grenesko, in May 1991. Jim Essian, a former

journeyman A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

and

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The Cubs play their h ...

manager, replaced Zimmer for the remainder of the season. Frey was reassigned within the organization after the 1991 season, replaced by former

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

general manager

Larry Himes Lawrence Austin Himes (born October 7, 1940, in Riverside, California) is an American former general manager (GM) for two Major League Baseball (MLB) teams: the Chicago White Sox (1986–1990); and the Chicago Cubs (1991–1994). Himes is likely be ...

. He left baseball in 1992, citing a feeling of being worn out after 43 years in the game.

Retirement and death

Later on, Frey became Vice Chairman of the

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and w ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

, being a key figure in the team's early years. He died in Ponte Vedra, Florida, on April 12, 2020, at the age of 88, survived by his wife of 68 years and his four children. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29035030/former-royals-cubs-manager-jim-frey-dies-age-88%3fplatform=amp

References

External links

Jim Frey
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Jim Frey
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League)
Jim Frey
at Baseball America Executive Database : {{DEFAULTSORT:Frey, Jim 1931 births 2020 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Atlanta Crackers players Austin Senators players Baltimore Orioles coaches Baltimore Orioles scouts Baseball coaches from Ohio Baseball players from Cleveland Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chicago Cubs announcers Chicago Cubs executives Chicago Cubs managers Columbus Jets players Evansville Braves players Fort Worth Cats players Hartford Chiefs players Indios de Oriente players Industriales de Valencia players Jacksonville Braves players Kansas City Royals managers Lácteos de Pastora players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball general managers Major League Baseball hitting coaches Manager of the Year Award winners Minor league baseball managers New York Mets coaches Omaha Cardinals players Paducah Chiefs players Rochester Red Wings players Toledo Sox players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players