Post by Dale on Sept 16, 2007 8:19:29 GMT -5
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — More than two months after abruptly stepping down as manager of the Seattle Mariners, Mike Hargrove has decided to take over the semi-pro summer team in Kansas for which he played more than 30 years ago.
Hargrove, 57, will manage the Liberal BeeJays, one of the nation's most successful summer teams for college-age players in Liberal, Kan., about 50 miles from where he grew up in Perryton, Texas.
"When I resigned from the team, I said I hadn't lost my passion for the game but maybe lost my passion for the job a little bit," Hargrove told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday. "Working with the BeeJays sounds interesting and exciting and fun. ... And if I can help them then it's the best of both worlds."
Hargrove resigned July 1 from the Mariners, saying he couldn't muster the daily dedication he has demanded from players for his 15 1/2 seasons as a big-league manager. He left when Seattle was soaring at 12 games over .500.
But Hargrove now plans to spend June through August in Liberal, where he played first base for the BeeJays in the summer of 1972 while on the roster for Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
Hargrove, 57, will manage the Liberal BeeJays, one of the nation's most successful summer teams for college-age players in Liberal, Kan., about 50 miles from where he grew up in Perryton, Texas.
"When I resigned from the team, I said I hadn't lost my passion for the game but maybe lost my passion for the job a little bit," Hargrove told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday. "Working with the BeeJays sounds interesting and exciting and fun. ... And if I can help them then it's the best of both worlds."
Hargrove resigned July 1 from the Mariners, saying he couldn't muster the daily dedication he has demanded from players for his 15 1/2 seasons as a big-league manager. He left when Seattle was soaring at 12 games over .500.
But Hargrove now plans to spend June through August in Liberal, where he played first base for the BeeJays in the summer of 1972 while on the roster for Northwestern Oklahoma State University.