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Cleaning house Orioles fire manager Miller, general manager Wren
Posted: Thursday October 14, 1999 06:45 PM
BALTIMORE (AP) -- The Baltimore Orioles got rid of their fourth manager in six years, firing Ray Miller on Thursday as part of a shakeup that also cost general manager Frank Wren his job. Miller took over the team in November 1997 after owner Peter Angelos forced the resignation of Davey Johnson, who twice took the Orioles to the AL championship series but lost both times. Under Miller, the team's former pitching coach, the Orioles went 79-83 in 1998, then slumped to 78-84 this year despite a $78.5 million opening-day payroll, third-highest in baseball behind the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. After firing Miller in mid-afternoon, the Orioles dumped Wren in the evening, citing several incidents in which he rubbed Angelos' management team the wrong way. The Orioles said Wren ordered the team flight to Anaheim to leave on time last month after Cal Ripken called to say he would arrive late. Ripken had to make his own arrangements, which began with a flight out of Washington. "The Orioles management cannot and will not abide having a general manager operate in such an unreasonable, authoritarian manner and treat anyone in this way, especially someone such as Cal who has done so much for the Orioles and for baseball," said vice chairman and chief operating officer Joe Foss. Wren declined comment, saying he was negotiating a settlement of his three-year contract. He replaced Pat Gillick last October. Miller, 54, did not return phone calls Thursday. But during the final weekend of the regular season he cited poor pitching for the team's lack of success and said he was confident he made the correct moves in all but a half-dozen games. "There were six games that I slept very poorly on, and in three of those six I probably did the right thing," he said. Angelos fired Johnny Oates after the 1994 season and hired former pitching coach Phil Regan, who lasted one year. Then came Johnson and finally Miller, whom Angelos thought would be the perfect fit. "Ray Miller is a gentleman and a fine baseball man and I appreciate his efforts and the contributions he has made over the years to the Orioles organization," Angelos said in a statement. "My best wishes go out to him in his future endeavors." In a letter to Miller, Angelos lauded Miller's contributions to the 1997 team. But 1998 and 1999 were another story. The Orioles never recovered from a 4-14 start start and were 36-51 record at the All-Star break. A 13-game winning streak in September only served to help them finish fourth, ahead of last-place Tampa Bay. "I feel bad for Ray," Orioles shortstop Mike Bordick said. "He obviously wasn't the one throwing the ball or hitting the ball. But we just didn't have the success we wanted." Former Milwaukee Brewers manager Phil Garner is considered to be the leading candidate to replace Miller. Garner was in the midst of his seventh straight losing season when he was fired by the Brewers in August, but he didn't have much talent to work with at the low-budget Brewers. Tom Trebelhorn, the Orioles' director of player development and former manager of the Brewers and Chicago Cubs, also is a possibility. So is former Oriole Don Baylor, who managed the Colorado Rockies from 1993-98 and Jim Riggleman, fired by the Chicago Cubs on Monday. "It's going to be interesting to see who they bring in," Bordick said. "Sometimes a change is good, and sometimes the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence." This is the second time that Miller failed to field a winner as a major league manager. He went 50-50 with the Minnesota Twins in the second half of the 1985 season and was fired in September 1986, with the team struggling at 59-70. Minnesota, which was in the midst of a rebuilding program, then flourished under Tom Kelly and a staff comprised primarily of Miller's assistants. "The same thing will happen here if I get gone, because this club has tremendous direction right now," Miller said last weekend. "Right now, for the first time, there's a little light shining through the door. You're very close to having something happening." The Orioles had a club-record .279 batting average and set a franchise record with 1,572 hits, but Baltimore lost a 24 games when it scored six runs or more. "It wasn't a good year, and things happen after you don't produce the way you're expected to," infielder Jeff Reboulet said. "It's tough to blame one person for everything going on, but the finger usually ends up pointing at the manager. It's part of the game." Miller's career record as a manager is 266-297. He has said he will not pursue another position in baseball.
Under the terms of his contract, Miller will receive $100,000 from the Orioles because they did not exercise the option to retain him.
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