Jim Frey, Manager Who Flirted With Championships, Dies at 88

Frey replaced Whitey Herzog as the Royals’ manager after the 1979 season. Kansas City won the American League West with a 97-65 record in 1980, finishing 14 games ahead of the Oakland A’s.

The Royals rode a potent offense led by George Brett, Willie Wilson, Hal McRae, Frank White and Willie Aikens, and a pitching staff headed by Dennis Leonard, Larry Gura and Dan Quisenberry. They swept the Yankees, 3-0, in the A.L. Championship Series, then lost the World Series to the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.

Kansas City had a record of 20-30 when the 1981 season was interrupted for about six weeks by a players’ strike. Afterward, in a split-season format, the Royals were in first place in the second-half division standings, with a 10-10 record, when Frey was fired. He was replaced by Dick Howser, who had been jettisoned by the Yankees after losing to the Royals.

Frey coached for the Mets in 1982 and 1983 and then was hired by the Chicago Cubs to replace Charlie Fox. Seeking its first World Series title since 1908, Chicago went 96-65 and won the National League East, reaching the postseason for the first time since 1945.

A celebrated group of Cubs — including Ryne Sandberg, Ron Cey, Gary Matthews, Keith Moreland, Leon Durham and Rick Sutcliffe — won the first two games in the best-of-five N.L. Championship Series against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field. But the Cubs lost the next two games at San Diego.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/sports/baseball/jim-frey-dead.html