The final day of the 2006 season brought massive changes to Wrigley Field on Sunday as the Cubs turned a page on one of the worst years in their history.
Team President Andy MacPhail resigned after 12 years on the job, and John McDonough, senior vice president of marketing and broadcasting, was named interim president. No timetable was offered for when or whether the appointment would be made permanent.
And the makeover isn’t finished.
Manager Dusty Baker and most of his coaching staff will be out of jobs by Monday morning.
“I’m gone,” Baker told the Tribune after Sunday’s season finale, an 8-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies that left the Cubs with a 66-96 record.
The shake-up marked a changing of the guard in Cubs management, with Tribune Co. Chief Executive Officer and President Dennis FitzSimons turning the organization over to the man whose marketing expertise helped turn Wrigley Field into a gold mine, regardless of whether the product on the field was good or awful.
McDonough said his solitary goal is to reward the loyalty of long-suffering Cubs fans with a World Series title.
“These are the greatest fans in the history of sports,” McDonough said. “We have not won the World Series in 98 years. We have a terrific general manager in Jim Hendry. Jim will get all the resources he needs, and it’s time to win.”
As the Cubs staggered to a last-place finish with the worst record in the National League, they had the second-highest attendance total in franchise history. But thousands of no-shows over the final month gave the impression that fans were fed up with the team’s lackluster performance. McDonough acknowledged being concerned with fan sentiment and vowed that a new atmosphere would exist under his regime.
“We need to restore the passion, the enthusiasm and the pride of the Chicago Cubs,” he said. “And we will.”
MacPhail’s departure had been in the making since midsummer. FitzSimons termed it “a baseball decision.” The Cubs made great strides in generating revenue and modernizing Wrigley Field on MacPhail’s watch but continued to flounder on the field, reaching the playoffs just twice.
MacPhail operated with a handshake agreement rather than a contract.
“It’s time,” he said. “The clock on the MacPhail-o-meter has run down to zero.”
MacPhail said he met in July with Crane Kenney, Tribune Co. senior vice president and general counsel, for “an A-to-Z evaluation of the team” and offered his resignation.
“Obviously, this has been an awful season,” MacPhail said. “I reminded Crane, `Look, this relationship has to be one where both parties have to be satisfied that they’re getting everything they need out of the other party, and if you need my resignation, you can have it when you want it.'”
Weeks later, MacPhail met with FitzSimons, who said, “Look, Andy, we’ve got to try something different.”
MacPhail took responsibility for the Cubs’ failure to field a consistent winner during his tenure.
“It’s not just that we had a terrible season,” he said. “I’ve been here 12 years, 12 seasons, and we’ve had only two postseasons. That’s not what I came here to do. Obviously, I haven’t been as effective as I wanted to be. It’s pretty thin soup for a franchise that’s had a payroll generally in the top four, or five or six or seven, over the course of that time.
“We should be doing better, and we’re not. And I’m the CEO, and I’m responsible. I’ve been in the business my entire life, and there’s one rule that applies to everything. You’ve got to win, and if you don’t win, it’s subject to change.”
FitzSimons praised MacPhail for expanding and improving Wrigley, “adding revenue potential so we had the best chance to win.” He said Tribune Co. is “committed to winning.”
“This is a difficult day concluding a dismal season,” FitzSimons said. “No one is more disappointed about it than Andy. He’s a good man . . . and has represented the organization with the highest standards of integrity.”
FitzSimons declined to say how long the “interim” title would remain with McDonough. Tribune Co. has been going through structural changes, and rumors that the company would eventually sell the Cubs have been rampant for months.
FitzSimons said there are no plans to sell the team.
“We retained financial advisers last week to look at strategic alternatives,” FitzSimons said. “We will not be discussing the sale of any individual assets.”
MacPhail was increasingly removed from the organization this season as he worked for Major League Baseball on an upcoming collective-bargaining agreement with the players union. He may go on to work for MLB. Given his background, he has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Commissioner Bud Selig when Selig retires.
“We’ve had the season we’ve had here and this announcement, and you’re asking me if I’m going to be the commissioner?” MacPhail said. “I’ve always found that to be a little incongruous.”
MacPhail became emotional during his postgame news conference in the Cubs’ interview room, choking up when he said, “This is the first thing in baseball I’ve done that I haven’t had a high level of success at.”
He blamed the failure of the farm system on the club’s philosophy of prioritizing pitching in the amateur draft. Though he claimed the Cubs “have developed more pitching than any other team” in the majors, he acknowledged that their record on position players is “poor.”
McDonough said he believes in building the organization through the minor-league system. He came to the Cubs as director of sales and promotions in 1983 and was responsible for creating the Cubs Convention and inviting guest conductors for the seventh-inning stretch after Harry Caray’s death in 1998.
McDonough’s decision to market the charm and history of Wrigley Field in ad campaigns helped the Cubs draw between 2.6 million and 3 million fans on an annual basis, even as the Cubs finished third or lower in 17 of the 20 years McDonough served as marketing director.
“We have seen success here,” he said, pointing to postseason appearances in 1984, ’89, ’98 and 2003. “But we have to get to that next level–and that next level is winning the World Series.”
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psullivan@tribune.com
