It's Maz!!!!

[Nanner]

Knew it.

Called it.



Press conference this afternoon.

11/07/2003 10:13 AM ET
Mazzilli to be named O's manager
By Gary Washburn / MLB.com

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles will name Yankees coach Lee Mazzilli as their 15th manager at a press conference at Camden Yards on Friday afternoon.
Mazzilli, 48, edged Orioles third base coach Sam Perlozzo and Milwaukee Brewers bench coach Rich Dauer for the job. Mazzilli had been the Yankees' third base coach for the past four seasons and served as a manager in the New York system for three years.

The management duo of Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan interviewed nine candidates but pared down that list in the past few days, finally meeting with owner Peter Angelos on Thursday night to cement Mazzilli as their choice. He apparently wowed club officials during his interview with his confidence and knowledge of the Orioles' organization.

Mazzilli and the Orioles agreed to a two-year contract.

"We are excited that Lee will bring his leadership and experience to the Orioles," said Beattie, executive vice president for baseball operations. "This ballclub began making a change in direction last year, and Lee represents another step in that direction. We welcome Lee, his wife Dani, and their family into the Orioles family."

During his meeting with the media, Mazzilli referred to the Orioles as "we" on one occasion and expressed confidence that he could lead the O's back to prominence.

"It's not like you are inheriting a rebuilding ballclub. I am happy coming here knowing the direction this club is going," he said on Oct. 30. " I was very impressed with their approach here, where they want to go. They definitely have a plan. I know coming into Baltimore this season as a Yankee, we all knew they had a good core of players here."

Cleveland hitting coach and Hall of Famer Eddie Murray, first base coach Rick Dempsey, former Philadelphia manager Terry Francona, Tampa Bay third base coach Tom Foley and former Boston manager Grady Little also interviewed for the job.

Little, Foley and Francona were eliminated as candidates on Thursday, while Beattie and Flanagan worked into the night trying to decide on their choice. Mazzilli played 14 years in the Majors, mostly with the New York Mets, where he won a World Series title in 1986.

He took six years off after his retirement in 1990 and joined the Yankees organization in 1997.

Gary Washburn is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[GaryMrMets]

Originally posted by Nanner
Mazzilli had been the Yankees' third base coach for the past four seasons and served as a manager in the New York system for three years.

Congratulations to Mazzilli

I'm very glad that the Orioles have selected Mazzilli to be their manager. I remember when he played for the Mets from 1976 - 1981 his father always used to be at the games. I hope very much that his dad is still alive. Also, when he got married, I remember I was near St. Patricks Cathedral when I saw the wedding party go inside, and what did I do? I went inside too. I took some photos with my camera too.

Can someone please let this reporter, Gary Washburn for MLB.com know that Mazzilli was the Yankees first base coach and not the third base coach

[Nanner]

"And how does Nanner feel about this," you might be asking.

Well, Nanner likes the idea! I think it's a fresh, different approach, and I also noticed during his interview with the press afterwards that he referred to "us" and "we" in referring to the Orioles. I sorta liked that.

Welcome, Maz............. the new Oriole!!!

:cooldude:

[rockin500]

sounds like he will be a good choice. plus i'm sure he's probably a bit glad to get away from mad george. lol

[Nanner]

Originally posted by GaryMrMets

Can someone please let this reporter, Gary Washburn for MLB.com know that Mazzilli was the Yankees first base coach and not the third base coach

I know...... pretty lame of him to make that mistake.....

Gary, that's so cool you crashed the wedding!

I'm happy for Maz. I think it's a good choice.

[Nanner]

Originally posted by rockin500
..........plus i'm sure he's probably a bit glad to get away from mad george. lol

True!

[PopTop]

First, great news for Mazzilli and great news for Nanner the Magnificent who called it!

Now let's hope it's really good news for the Orioles' team ... I'm hoping he fits in with the players and gets off on a good foot in '04.

Ok, the 1B-3B thingy ... I believe that the article is correct, Mazzilli is, or was at the time Bawlmer scooped him up, technically the Yankees' 3B coach ... A move was made just a few days ago, and was the reason I thought maybe Maz wasn't going to get the job ... Willie Randolph was promoted to bench coach and Maz was shifted across the diamond to become the 3B coach ... It seemed weird then, and even stranger now, that he would be moved to third if he was going to be leaving the team anyway

[Cyberlibrarian]

Actually, if you want to get really technical about it, Maz was the incumbent 3rd base coach.

Last week, when Zimmer left and the announcement was made that Willie Randolph would get the bench coach job, another announcement was made -- that Maz would serve as the 3B coach.

[GaryMrMets]

Maz looks good in the ORIOLES jersey


New manager Lee Mazzilli tries on his Orioles jersey.

[Nanner]

Originally posted by GaryMrMets
Maz looks good in the ORIOLES jersey


New manager Lee Mazzilli tries on his Orioles jersey.

He does! That cap suits him too!!!

HEY! Did he steal R-Lo's number?! :umm Well, maybe R-Lo will do better next season with a different number.

And you guys are right. The Yankees just recently said he was moving to 3rd base if he didn't get the O's job.

So, guess they'll have to put someone else there.

[Cyberlibrarian]

Sorry guys. I just can't like him. He acts as if he, like Athena, burst full-grown from St. Torresa's head. The guy first met Torre when they were both METS, but from the way he talks, you'd never know it.

[Nanner]

You know, that doesn't bother me. He thinks like a winner, and speaks like a winner. I think it's a refreshing change, no matter where he comes from.

Some O's fans, on another board where I lurk, are pissed off that he's a former Yankee and a former Met...... It seems to be a New Yorker thing.

As he said in the press conference....... "I'm not a Yankee anymore. I'm an Oriole." Right thing to say, for me.

Mazzilli signs 2-year deal as new manager of Orioles
Team owner Angelos apparently was hesitant

By Joe Christensen
Sun Staff
Originally published November 8, 2003



The Orioles hired former New York Yankees first base coach Lee Mazzilli as their manager yesterday, ending weeks of speculation that they would hand the job to a more familiar face, such as Eddie Murray or Sam Perlozzo.

Mazzilli signed a two-year contract that includes two club option years, and then strolled into his introductory news conference showing all the confidence and charisma that had wowed the Orioles' decision-makers in his interview Oct. 30.

"I am looking at this challenge with great enthusiasm," Mazzilli said. "This is a good, good ballclub. This is not a rebuilding ballclub. This is a team that can compete with any team in the league. I believe that."

The Orioles have suffered through six consecutive losing seasons, the last four under Mike Hargrove, who was fired Sept. 29.

Orioles vice presidents Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan conducted a five-week search before naming Mazzilli the 15th manager in club history. They interviewed eight candidates, including former Boston Red Sox manager Grady Little and former Philadelphia Phillies manager Terry Francona.

Mazzilli, 48, seemed like a long shot at the start.

He was short on experience, compared with Little and Francona, though he had gone 220-197 as a manager in the Yankees' minor league system from 1997 to 1999.

And he was certainly short on Orioles ties compared with Murray, Perlozzo, Rick Dempsey and Rich Dauer. From the beginning, the two favorites seemed to be Murray, who went into the Hall of Fame as an Oriole this past summer, and Perlozzo, who has spent the past eight years as the team's bench coach.

"We don't look at it as being unconventional," Flanagan said. "In my estimation, [Mazzilli] had what we were looking for at this point in time, to grow with this club as it gets better.

"Attitude, personality, projection, leadership - to take nothing away from the other candidates, we just felt with the whole package, he was the right guy at the right place right now."

Mazzilli knows all about timing. As a player, he hit .259 in 14 major league seasons, including 10 with the New York Mets. He got waived by the Mets in 1989 and landed with the Toronto Blue Jays, and though he played 28 more games before retiring, one of his final teammates was Flanagan.

They stayed friends over the years, and less than a year after Flanagan landed his front-office job with the Orioles, he thought of Mazzilli as manager material.

Mazzilli was the seventh of eight candidates to interview for the job, and he dazzled the six-member search committee, which consisted of Beattie, Flanagan, director of baseball administration Ed Kenney, assistant to the vice president Dave Ritterpusch, scouting director Tony DeMacio and farm director Doc Rodgers.

This time, Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos did not meet with the candidates, but Beattie and Flanagan kept him up to speed throughout the process.

Angelos also studied the videotapes from the news conference each candidate conducted after his interview - something the Orioles set up as part of the process.

Last weekend, Beattie and Flanagan told Angelos the candidate that had impressed them the most was Mazzilli.

"When we got through [with Mazzilli's interview]," Flanagan said, "We both went, 'The search is over.' "

Said Beattie: "Lee is a winner. It came through in his interview. He talked about how on a daily basis, it starts and ends with winning. He's not just going to go out and compete."

But Angelos apparently was hesitant. He had strong feelings for Perlozzo, who was considered the runner-up when Hargrove got the job in 1999 and remains popular throughout the organization.

Angelos has long admired Murray and threw him a lavish party in Cooperstown, N.Y., during the Hall of Fame induction weekend. And Angelos, like several members of the search committee, had also been impressed with Dauer, the former Orioles second baseman who now works as the Milwaukee Brewers' bench coach.

Beattie and Flanagan presented their case for Mazzilli on Tuesday, but Angelos didn't sign off on the decision until late Thursday night.

"They worked very diligently, and I know it was very difficult for them because of the positive qualities of all those who interviewed," Angelos said.

"They had close personal relationships with some of the candidates, and some of them were teammates, so I know it was difficult. But they made the right decision for this team. Obviously, I support it completely."

Salary figures for Mazzilli were not immediately available.

This week, the Yankees announced Mazzilli would be promoted from first-base coach to third-base coach if he didn't land the Orioles job. Now there is speculation in New York that the Yankees might try to hire Perlozzo to coach third base.

Perlozzo declined to comment yesterday.

The Yankees wished Mazzilli well.

"He certainly has gained valuable experience over the years," Yankees manager Joe Torre said in a statement. "And I have a great deal of confidence that he'll do a fine job with the Orioles."

In his four years with the Yankees, Mazzilli went to the playoffs all four years, advancing to the World Series three times. Asked if he thought Orioles fans would have a hard time embracing a Yankee, Mazzilli didn't blink.

"Well, guess what?" he said. "I'm not a Yankee any more. I'm an Oriole."

Sitting behind the podium, Beattie began clapping. He was soon joined by a throng of team employees who had turned out to welcome their new manager.


Copyright © 2003, The Baltimore Sun

[PopTop]

Hmm, Mazzilli wouldn't have been at the top of my list, not like I've hidden that fact ... Shows what I know about hiring managers more than anything else ... But if old NY Giants fans could forgive Leo Durocher for ever managing the crosstown Brooklyn Dodgers years ago, I would hope O's fans wouldn't hold it against Mazzilli that he was either a Met or a Yank.

But I'm not sure about ever letting my manager wear #13 Not that I'm superstitious or anything.

[Nanner]

Well, he was 13 on the Mets..... and I think he was 13 on the Yanks up until this past year...... (help me out here, Obri or Kel....) - wasn't he 53 this past season on the Yanks? I think it's his number of choice, and since he's the new Skip, R-Lo probably said "no problem", and hopefully a new number will be good for R-Lo.

Here's more on Maz from today's Baltimore Sun. And, ohmigod...... he tried "acting".

After walk, Mazzilli on base
Links to Torre, Flanagan led him to Yanks, O's once he put uniform back on; Wife 'kicked me out the door'; Mazzilli tried radio, acting, but baseball drew him in
By Joe Christensen
Sun Staff
Originally published November 8, 2003



Long before yesterday, when he was named the 15th manager in Orioles history, Lee Mazzilli walked away from baseball for seven years.

A fan favorite who was known affectionately as "Maz" with the New York Mets, Mazzilli retired as a player in 1989 and left the game so he could spend more time with his family.

He tried broadcasting, drawing a couple of Game of the Week assignments for CBS Radio with current Orioles broadcaster Jim Hunter.

He tried acting, landing the role as Tony for five months in the off-Broadway play, Tony and Tina's Wedding. (Ohmigod.)

He tried lots of things, but "nothing ever fills the void," Mazzilli's wife, Dani, was saying yesterday.

So in 1996, Mazzilli was at a career crossroads when he bumped into Joe Torre, who was rising to prominence as New York Yankees manager.

Mazzilli, who had dreamed of managing in the big leagues since his days at Lincoln High in Brooklyn, played for Torre with the Mets for five seasons starting in 1977.

A year later, after Torre put in a good recommendation, the Yankees offered Mazzilli the managing job at Single-A Tampa.

"My wife was the one who kicked me out the door," Mazzilli said. "She said, 'To do what you want to do, you have to go and see if that's what you want.' I really didn't want to leave the nest. She kind of gave me the boot."

Hearing this from the side of the podium at Mazzilli's introductory news conference, Dani Mazzilli shouted, "Hey! You were home for seven years! It was time!"

And the whole room burst into laughter.

When asked what he had to show for those seven years away from baseball, Mazzilli, 48, pointed over at his wife and their three kids - Jenna, 15, and the 13-year-old fraternal twins, Lacey and L.J (who was sporting a brand new Orioles jacket and cap).

"There they are," Mazzilli said, flashing a radiant smile.

In 1997, Tampa went 70-66 under Mazzilli, and a year later, he guided that team to the Florida State League finals.

In 1999, after being promoted one level, Mazzilli led Double-A Norwich to the Eastern League finals.

The next year, he joined the Yankees staff as the first base coach, and some were identifying him as a possible successor to Torre.

"Lee has learned so much from [Torre]," Dani Mazzilli said. "With everything going on around the Yankees, Joe is able to handle it with such grace. That's the reason why he's as successful as he is."

When the Yankees lost the World Series to the Florida Marlins last month, their owner, George Steinbrenner, started another purge. Hitting coach Rick Down was fired, and bench coach Don Zimmer resigned.

There was some thought Mazzilli might be next, but earlier this week, the Yankees promoted third base coach Willie Randolph to the bench and promoted Mazzilli over to third.

Still, with Torre entering the final year of his contract, Mazzilli was standing on shaky ground until the Orioles called Thursday night, at about 11, offering him their manager's job.

It pays to have friends in high places, as Mazzilli learned with Torre in 1996 and again last month with Orioles vice president Mike Flanagan.

Flash back to early August 1989. After getting released by the Mets, Mazzilli landed with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The end was near. With his Italian-American good looks and speedy flair in center field, Mazzilli had risen to prominence a decade earlier in New York. He hit a home run in the 1979 All-Star Game and forced home the winning run with a walk off Ron Guidry.

But Mazzilli said he felt like he was walking on eggshells when he walked into the Blue Jays' clubhouse, so he sidled up to Flanagan, a veteran pitcher whose yoke had always been easy.

Flanagan befriended Mazzilli, who played just 28 more games before retiring, and the two of them managed to stay close over the years.

"Lee's never been one to blow his own horn or tell you know much he knows," Flanagan said. "He's got a certain confidence and security. To me, he has a lot of terrific foxhole qualities."

The Orioles fired former manager Mike Hargrove after four losing seasons on Sept. 29. Flanagan and executive vice president Jim Beattie compiled a list, making Mazzilli a late addition.

"It was not a prerequisite to have major league managing experience," Flanagan said. "It was not a prerequisite to have extensive minor league managing experience. I've found that the people who are good don't usually take an exceptionally long period going through the minor leagues."

After blowing away Flanagan, Beattie and the rest of the team's six-man search committee in his Oct. 30 interview, Mazzilli got his dream job, signing a two-year contract with two club option years.

"What can I say?" Mazzilli said, in his first public comment as manager.

"This is one of the greatest days of my life."


Copyright © 2003, The Baltimore Sun

[Nanner]

Laura rings in. I really, really like Maz's attitude. He's hungry to jump in and make a change and bring his attitude to the boys. He's very excited. Wish I could have seen this press conference!

With an 'A' on O's quiz, New Yorker makes grade
Laura Vecsey
Originally published Nov 8, 2003

THE DOOR TO Lee Mazzilli's major league managing career opened back on Aug. 8 at Fenway Park. Not that anyone realized it at the time.

The Orioles had opened a four-game weekend series against the Boston Red Sox, promptly taking both ends of a doubleheader and winning three of four.

It was a tremendous lift for the Orioles, who featured so many young players attempting to prove they could beat their toughest American League East rivals. It was an apparent boon to manager Mike Hargrove, who was in the final weeks of his contract and who, like everyone else within the organization, was under scrutiny in this "season of evaluation."

But then the Orioles went to Tampa Bay, where they meekly lost three straight to the Devil Rays. It was a turning point, for Hargrove and the Orioles. The team went on to notch an eight-game skid, all but sinking the Orioles' chances of finishing at .500. Hargrove was sunk, too.

A change was needed, that much was certain for vice presidents Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan and others within the organization. It was time to find a field general who was less philosophical in nature and approach; someone who would prod the club, put a charge into it.

No one knows what Lee Mazzilli is going to become as the newest manager in the major leagues. What matters, at least to the Orioles, is what Mazzilli is right now.

He is a fresh face, a breath of fresh air. He is confident, but not one to blow his own horn. He is a risk, but no more so than anyone else who was interviewed, none of whom had the kind of answers and energy that made it unanimous among the Orioles to pick Mazzilli. He represents the antidote to all that went on before.

Besides, Mazzilli had the answer that the Orioles were looking for when it came to addressing that particular question about that specific point at which last season fell apart: What would you have done during that critical stretch in August, after the wins at Fenway and a tour through the rest of the AL East on tap?

"You come off a good streak ... have a setup or a meeting where you've got to remind [the team]: 'Listen, we just came off a good streak right there. Let's not think we can walk through this thing. That's not the way it is. Any player who has the ball, any player with a bat in his hand is dangerous. Any team can win on any given day,' " Mazzilli recalled last night.

It was an approach to a specific situation that seemed to seal the deal between the Orioles and Mazzilli, who said the danger for a team is to play up or down to the level of the competition; that losing three in Tampa and the snowballing losses afterward effectively made the difference between losing 91 games instead of finishing closer to .500.

Mazzilli said he would not wait to see if there was going to be a letdown.

"You can have a very, very low-keyed meeting. Bring guys together. Say, 'Hey guys, we just came off a hot streak. Just remember to play hard and run the way you run and see you tomorrow.' You make it real quick. Get to the point. It doesn't matter if it's a young club. Joe's [Torre] done that with the Yankees, a veteran club."

There's a certain heaviness that comes with losing. There's not a sports franchise in the world that hasn't radiated that kind of suffocating aura, although baseball fans in Baltimore these past few years might believe they bore an unfair amount of weight.

"It's tiring. It wears you out," Beattie said yesterday.

"It's like when Mike and I came in last year. We brought different energy. Sometimes, you have to reinvent yourself," he said.

Well, consider the Orioles reinvented. It should also feel a little lighter around town today. The Orioles made a fairly bold decision to tap Mazzilli as their 15th manager. Any reservations about whether the Brooklyn-born, New York Mets-drafted and New York Yankees-polished Mazzilli is a good fit were fairly quickly diminished.

It doesn't hurt when the new guy starts off with a joke about his 10-year contract, which it's not. Mazzilli is getting a nice two-year window to showcase his personality and style. It adds some flavor to the proceedings when the new manager all but drools about dining opportunities in Little Italy.

Welcome to Baltimore, Lee. There's plenty of good marinara down by the harbor.

Mazzilli looked appropriately honored and humbled, especially knowing who had also come to interview. There were Eddie Murray, Sam Perlozzo and Rick Dempsey - all of whom had constituencies that wanted to see these Orioles favorites get a shot. There had been confirmation from inside the warehouse that Orioles' roots were not exactly a bad thing.

But in the end, Beattie and Flanagan opted for real change - with a total refutation that owner Peter Angelos did anything about this hiring process except give his blessing to those in charge of baseball operations.

"In the change, the change has to have impact. You have to make sure it has an impact on the players," said Beattie, signaling that a new attitude will be paramount at the major league level, as it has been in the minor leagues.

That Mazzilli is a fresh face does not guarantee he'll be the next Tony Pena, who has sparked the Kansas City Royals, or the next Mike Scioscia, who did a marvelous job leading the Angels to the 2002 World Series title, making the Dodgers look silly for letting Scioscia get away.

Maybe Mazzilli's hire will turn out the same way. Now wouldn't that be the Orioles' ultimate revenge on the Yankees? Mazzilli already said he wants to beat them.
Copyright © 2003, The Baltimore Sun