Former Cub Manager Preston Gomez Dies

IIRC, he was involved in a serious car accident last summer.

a terrible team that was basically “playing out the string” of the Wrigley family ownership.

I remember not being terribly excited when the Cubs hired him (he had two previous undistinguished terms with the Padres and Astros) but still think he got kind of a raw deal to be fired at mid-season-nobody could’ve done anything with a team that fielded immortals like Len Randle (3b), Tim Blackwell © and Jerry Martin.

All evidence is that Gomez was a good man and a baseball “lifer” who deserved better.

I remember Preston Gomez and the 1980 Cubs, although I wish I didn’t. Not Gomez, who was put in a hopeless job, but the rest of the team.

Gomez was known as one of the good guys in baseball, but he was handed a hopeless team and was hopelessly ignorant of the personnel. He didn’t know players names and he complained that the Cubs had a bad middle relief, when that was actually one of the team’s few strengths, with Dick Tidrow, Bill Caudill and Willie Hernandez. He wasn’t good managing the Padres or Astros either, although that expansion Padres team was hopeless too.

He was, from all accounts, a beloved coach with the Dodgers and Angels. He was probably promoted over his head, but served the game proudly and well in a lesser capacity. And as I said, he had a reputation for being one of the really good guys.

My aunt and uncle lived at Lake Point Tower where Gomez lived and knew him as he was on their floor and for my birthday he got an autographed ball with several of the players, a team photo and a hat.

I still have them somewhere.

Gomez was the first Cubs manager I can remember. That team was simply awful. It had Bill Buckner, Bruce Sutter, and Rick Reuschel. Lee Smith came up during that season. The other players that I’m glad I don’t remember well were pathetic. As bad as the Cubs were in 1980 and 1981, I was very pleased with their performance in the second half of 1982 and first half of 1983. The Cubs were actually 81-81 over that 162-game stretch. They were 42-39 to finish 1982 and were 39-42 to start 1983.

He was a wartime player in 1944 for the Washington Senators. He played only 8 games, batting .286, never to be seen again as a player in the major leagues. In 1980 the Tribune conducted a fan poll to select a new Cub manager. The winner was Whitey Hertzog, but the Cubs instead hired Preston Gomez. In spring training, he stated he wanted the Cubs to be “a running ballclub.” He then traded Miguel Dilone who stole 61 bases that year for the Indians. He made it through July before he was fired. He was reportedly a nice guy who predictably had problems with the likes of Dave Kingman. He was apparently a good baseball man.

http://newsok.com/el-reno-slayings-suspect-waives-extradition/article/3337855?custom_click=lead_story_title this happened in my very own backyard. I’m in disbelief that something like this could happen.