The Milwaukee Brewers today fired manager Tom Trebelhorn, a day after Sal Bando took over as general manager.
Trebelhorn, the Brewers' manager for five years, was rumored to be in trouble since the Brewers fell to 43-60 on Aug. 3 and out of the AL East pennant race. The team, however, won 40 of its last 59 games to finish fourth at 83-79.Bando was named senior vice president of baseball operations Tuesday, replacing longtime general manager Harry Dalton, who was reassigned.
Bando announced in a prepared statement this morning he had decided not to renew Trebelhorn's contract. There was no mention in the release about the future of Trebelhorn's staff, which includes Don Baylor, who has been mentioned as a managerial candidate for several teams.
The release also made no mention of possible successors although it is rumored Bando is interested in Gene Tenace, his former teammate and roommate on Oakland teams that won three straight World Series in the mid-1970s.
Bando and Trebelhorn were not immediately available for comment.
Trebelhorn is the third manager in three days to be fired. On Monday, the New York Yankees fired Stump Merrill. On Tuesday, the Boston Red Sox fired Joe Morgan and replaced him with Butch Hobson.
Trebelhorn is the 11th manager fired since the start of the 1991 season.
Tenace is an assistant coach with the Toronto Blue Jays, who are playing Minnesota in the AL playoffs. He said Tuesday night he had no comment on the Brewers job.
Tenace was acting manager for 33 games earlier this year when Toronto manager Cito Gaston suffered back problems. The Blue Jays were 19-14 under Tenace.
"I really enjoyed my time managing. If an offer came up, I'd seriously consider it, but the circumstances would have to very good," Tenace told reporters in Minnesota.
Trebelhorn, the ninth manager in Brewers history, finished with a 422-397 record in five seasons.
Trebelhorn said earlier this week he wanted his record as the team's longest serving manager and the team's play over the last two months to speak for his performance.
But while the Brewers' strong finish generated some enthusiasm among players, the franchise drew only 1,478,814, their lowest attendance since 1986.
With owner Bud Selig trying to convince politicians, fans and businesses that he needs the money for a new stadium to survive in one of baseball's smallest markets, it was the worst of times for a drop in attendance.
Trebelhorn, who played five seasons as a catcher in the minors, became the Brewers third base coach in 1986 after Tony Muser was seriously injured in a spring training explosion. When George Bamberger retired with nine games left in that season, Trebelhorn finally got the chance to manage in the big leagues.
In 1985, he had managed the Brewers Triple-A team at Vancouver to the Pacific Coast League title.
Trebelhorn's first full major league season started with a rush as the Brewers won their first 13 games, tyinb a major league record, but later dropped 12 straight.
The finished 91-71 and in third place for their first winning season in three years
The following season, they went 87-75 and were the last team to be eliminated from the pennant race, but again could only manage third.