Lee MacPhail

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Lee MacPhail
MacPhail at the White House for a Baseball Hall of Fame luncheon in 2004
Born: Leland Stanford MacPhail Jr.
(1917-10-25)October 25, 1917
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died: November 8, 2012(2012-11-08) (aged 95)
Delray Beach, Florida, U.S.
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction1998
Election methodVeterans Committee

Leland Stanford MacPhail Jr. (October 25, 1917 – November 8, 2012) was an American front-office executive in Major League Baseball. MacPhail was a baseball executive for 45 years, serving as the director of player personnel for the New York Yankees, the president and general manager of the Baltimore Orioles, chief aide to Commissioner of Baseball William Eckert, executive vice president and general manager of the Yankees, and president of the American League.

Four-generation baseball family

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, he was the son of Larry MacPhail (Leland S. MacPhail Sr.), front office executive with the Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Dodgers and the Yankees. Larry and Lee MacPhail are the only father-and-son pair to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Lee was honored in 1998.[1]

His brother Bill MacPhail was president of CBS Sports and later became president of CNN Sports, recruited by Ted Turner to create the department when the CNN was launched.

Lee MacPhail's son

Cleveland Indians, Washington Nationals and Texas Rangers.[4]

Front office career

Lee MacPhail graduated from Swarthmore College and entered baseball in his father's Brooklyn Dodger organization, became business manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League in 1942, then served in the United States Navy during World War II. He joined the Yankees in 1946 as general manager of their Kansas City Blues Triple-A farm team, a year after Larry MacPhail became a co-owner of the Bombers.[5]

The younger MacPhail rose through the Yankees system, eventually becoming

Most Valuable Player Brooks Robinson, the 1964 Orioles
finished only two games behind the pennant-winning Yankees.

At the time of his departure for the commissioner's office in November 1965, MacPhail and his successor,

After a brief term as top aide to the new commissioner, Eckert, in 1965–66,[8] MacPhail served as the Yankees' general manager from October 14, 1966, through the 1973 season, a rebuilding phase of the Yanks marked by the promotion of Bobby Murcer and Thurman Munson to the club, but no pennants or postseason appearances. The Yankees compiled a record of 569–557 (.505) during MacPhail's term as GM, with one second-place finish (in 1970).

After the

Boston
.

Although no AL franchise moved during MacPhail's term, he was in office for the dawning of the

1981 baseball strike when he stepped in for the owners to handle stalled negotiations. During his ten full years in office, the American League continued to struggle against the National League in All-Star Game competition: it lost the first nine midsummer classics it played under MacPhail's presidency, winning only in his last season, 1983, by a 13–3 score.[10]
The Junior Circuit compiled a 4–6 mark in World Series play over the same period.

MacPhail also played a major role in the Pine Tar Incident in 1983, where he ruled on a protested game stemming from a home run that had been taken away from Kansas City Royals slugger George Brett.[11] After his retirement as AL president, MacPhail spent two final years in baseball as chairman of Major League Baseball's Player Relations Committee.

Later life

MacPhail lived in Delray Beach, Florida, where he died November 8, 2012, at his home. He was 95. At time of his death he was the oldest living Hall of Famer.[12]

Honors and awards

He was elected to the

Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998, joining his father Larry MacPhail
, who had been elected in 1978, as the only father and son members.

In 1966, he received the Sporting News Executive of the Year Award. MacPhail had spent 1966 as assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball prior to taking over the Yankees' general manager post. The award was bestowed for his efforts in building the 1966 World Series champion Orioles.

The American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award is named for Lee MacPhail.[13]

In 2013, the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award honored MacPhail as one of 37 Baseball Hall of Fame members for his service in the United States Navy during World War II.[14]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Goldstein, Richard "Lee MacPhail, Executive Who Led American League, Dies at 95" The New York Times, Saturday, November 10, 2012
  2. ^ genie.com
  3. ^ The Reading Eagle
  4. ^ Linked-In page
  5. ^ "elsahefa.com".
  6. ^ "Former AL president, Hall of Famer Lee MacPhail, 95, dies at home in Delray Beach".
  7. ^ "Should Triple Crown guarantee MVP? - SportsNation - ESPN". Archived from the original on October 5, 2012.
  8. ^ "The Morning Record - Google News Archive Search".
  9. ^ "The Evening Independent - Google News Archive Search".
  10. ^ Information at Retrosheet
  11. ^ "Kansas City Royals 5, New York Yankees 4". Retrosheet. July 24, 1983. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  12. ^ "LEE MACPHAIL, OLDEST HALL OF FAMER, DEAD AT 95". AP. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
  13. ^ Brown, David (October 26, 2009). "Second Guess: Does Alex Rodriguez, not CC, deserve ALCS MVP?". Big League Stew sports blog (Yahoo! Inc.). Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  14. ^ "WWII HOF Players – Act of Valor Award".

External links

Preceded by Baltimore Orioles General Manager
19581965
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Dan Topping, Jr.
New York Yankees General Manager
19661974
Succeeded by