Frank-Cashen-Obituary

Frank Cashen

1925 - 2014

Obituary

NEW YORK (AP) — Frank Cashen, the general manager who wore a signature bow tie and fashioned a New York Mets team that rollicked its way to the 1986 World Series championship, died Monday. The team said he was 88.

He died at Memorial Hospital in Easton, Maryland, after a short illness, the Mets said.

Cashen was a longtime sports writer in his Baltimore hometown and went to law school before joining the Orioles and eventually becoming their GM.

The Orioles won two titles while Cashen worked for them, but it was in New York where he put his stamp on a franchise with the likes of Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden. Hired in 1980, Cashen transformed a last-place team into an outfit that became the most dominant force in baseball.

Cashen made the trades that brought star first baseman Keith Hernandez and future Hall of Famer Gary Carter to the Mets, and oversaw the draft picks of Gooden and Strawberry.

"Frank was our leader," Strawberry said in a statement. "I always admired the way he put together our team. He mixed young guys, like me and Doc, with guys like Carter and Hernandez. He was able to find the perfect blend to build a championship."

Cashen also hired his former second baseman in Baltimore, Davey Johnson, to be the Mets' manager.

Brash and full of swagger — not at all like the personality of the man who built the team — the 1986 Mets powered their way to 108 victories, won a tough playoff series with Houston and then rallied past Boston to win the World Series in seven games.

Hernandez is now a broadcaster for the Mets. He was already a star first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals when Cashen acquired him in June 1983 in a one-sided deal, getting him for pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey.

Before the Mets played at Atlanta on Monday night, Hernandez fondly remembered Cashen.

"He was a man of integrity and honestly, and that was most important. He told you the truth," Hernandez said.

"It was a day when the general managers didn't pal around with the players. We hardly ever saw him, but there was a relationship there. He was just a wonderful man."

After winning the championship, however, the Mets weren't able to sustain that peak performance. In the following years and Cashen traded away Lenny Dykstra, Ron Darling, Roger McDowell and other popular players.

Cashen left the Mets after a fifth-place finish in 1991. He remained close to the team and was briefly the interim GM several years later.

Cashen, who also worked as an executive in Major League Baseball, was inducted into the team Hall of Fame for both the Orioles and Mets.

"Frank Cashen revitalized our franchise when he took over," Mets chairman Fred Wilpon said in a statement. "I dealt with Frank on a daily basis and he was a man of integrity and great passion."

"No one had a more diverse career than Frank. He was also a lawyer, sports writer and marketing executive. His accomplishments will always be an integral part of our team history," he said.

In recent years, Cashen spent his time in Easton and in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where the Mets hold spring training. He was in camp with the Mets this year.

"One of the great baseball people," Mets manager Terry Collins said Monday.

Cashen is survived by wife Jean, seven children and nine grandchildren.

BEN WALKER, AP Baseball Writer

AP freelance writer Amy Jinkner-Lloyd in Atlanta contributed to this report.




Copyright © 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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❤❤❤fam

I am so sorry for your lost your family will be in my daily prayers.

So very sorry for your loss.

RIP

Condolences to the Cashen Family. May you all be comforted by John5:29&29.

I am sorry for the death of your dear loved one. May the god of tender mercies grant you peace to deal with this sad time in your life

Chicago

What a touching and moving legacy for Frank Cashen one of the world's leader in this unique endeavor, one we will probably never experience again. A great talent who has done so much and cared so deeply for others through fine works. “I pray that he may grant you through the abundance of his glory to be made mighty in the man you are inside, with power through his spirit… (Ephesians 3:16) Frank was a gifted person who is surely a loss to us all but we are inspired by the many astounding...

To Jean Cashen - a voice from long ago. Jean this is Joanne Binnington. Art and I were sorry to hear of Frank's death just yesterday when I read my Sports Illustrated. Sadly. the news did not make Toronto papers. I do hope you somehow read this. We had so many fun times all those years ago - highlighted by the visit to THE WORLD SERIES when the Mets won. And Frank was in Toronto when the Jays won.
We continue to be in Florida for the winters. I keep asking Jan Vining for your address...