ST. LOUIS -- Walt Jocketty, the Cardinals architect who lured manager Tony La Russa to St. Louis and oversaw the drafting of Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina to pave the way for seven division titles and a 2006 World Series crown, died Friday, the Cardinals announced in a statement.
Jocketty, a three-time MLB Executive of the Year award winner, passed away following years of battling an illness. He was 74.
“On behalf of the entire St. Louis Cardinals organization, I would like to offer our condolences to Walt’s family and his many friends,” Cardinals’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill DeWitt, Jr. said in a release. “Walt was our first GM when we purchased the ball club, and he helped to lead our baseball operations through some of the franchise’s most successful and memorable years. He will be sorely missed, but long remembered for his distinguished career in baseball.”
Jocketty was the GM of the Cardinals from 1994-2007 and was instrumental in bringing La Russa, a Hall of Fame manager, to St. Louis and trading for club greats Mark McGwire, Scott Rolen, Larry Walker, Chris Carpenter, Jim Edmonds, Jason Isringhausen and Adam Wainwright. Jocketty guided the Cards through one of their greatest runs in franchise history. During his time at the helm in St. Louis, the Cardinals won division crowns in 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006 and they reached the World Series in 2004 and ’06. The Cardinals won the 10th World Series crown in club history in 2006 by upsetting the Detroit Tigers.
John Mozeliak, who succeeded Jocketty as GM of the Cardinals from the start of the 2008 season until he was promoted to president of baseball operations in 2017, issued a statement upon hearing of Jocketty's passing.
“Walt was my boss, my mentor and my friend," Mozeliak said. "He impacted my life in so many ways, and I am grateful that I had the opportunity [to know him]. He will be missed.”
“He saw what he wanted and he went and got it and always just figured out a way,” said FanDuel Sports Network analyst Brad Thompson, a relief pitcher on the 2006 Cardinals team that won it all. “Part of the way he did that was through the relationships he had built. He had a strong relationship with Tony [La Russa] in Oakland, and then with McGwire and [Isringhausen].
"In this business, while it is calculated and all about the numbers, but it’s also about relationships. It was obvious from the start that Walt was trying to build something special and build a winner, and people wanted to follow along with him. A lot of those players could have made more money in other places or could have left after a year or two in free agency, but they didn’t because they know what Walt was building and they trusted in their relationships with Walt.”
Jocketty, who was fired by the Cardinals on October 3, 2007, after team owner Bill DeWitt cited divisiveness in the baseball operations front office, later became the general manager and then president of baseball operations for the Cincinnati Reds.
Jocketty’s keen eye for talent and his deft negotiating talent played major roles in him luring Hall of Famers Rolen and Walker and Cardinals Hall of Famers McGwire, Carpenter, Edmonds, Isringhausen and Wainwright to St. Louis in landmark trades. Those players turned out to be foundational pieces in a 13-year period when the Cardinals were one of the National League’s dominant forces.
Jocketty’s Cardinals shocked the baseball world in 2006 when they qualified for the playoffs despite winning just 83 games during the regular season. That squad stunned the Padres and beat the Mets in a seven-game epic of a National League Championship Series. That upstart, overachieving team then went on to beat the Tigers in five games to win the organization’s first World Series title since 1982.
“I think Walt should be a Cardinals Hall of Famer for all that he did for the organization and all of the pieces that he brought in. That stuff doesn’t happen without Walt,” Thompson said. “He just had a special way about him. He always made you feel important. It’s easy to feel important if you are Albert Pujols or Jim Edmonds, but even when he was talking to a Brad Thompson or a guy that’s on the fringe of the roster, he made you feel a part of the family. Having those relationships on the team from top to bottom the way they were with Walt, were always special.”
Born in Minneapolis, Jocketty got his start in the big leagues with the Oakland Athletics in 1980. He ultimately worked his way into the role of Oakland’s director of baseball operations during that franchise’s run of three straight World Series appearances from 1988-90, and a title in 1989. While there, he formed a lasting friendship and partnership with La Russa, the manager he brought to the Cardinals in 1995.
"Walt was always going to be honest with everyone in the organization, from ownership down to player development," La Russa said. "The relationships that work the best are the ones where you have mutual respect and trust, and that’s what we had in St. Louis.
"Everybody who knew Walt was always impressed with the real solid, fine man he was. He was one of the most respected professionals in the baseball community and well liked as a person. He really developed and continued to earn the respect and trust of the front offices around baseball, which led to many famous deals at the Trade Deadline throughout his career."
After leaving the Cardinals, Jocketty won his third MLB Executive of the Year award after leading the Reds to NL Central Division titles in 2010 and ’12.
“Great man. Great person,” said Reds bench coach Freddie Benavides. "It was tough to hear the news today. It was just awesome [working with Jocketty]. He let you work. He hired good people, let them work. He’d talk to you, call you. He was just a good baseball man and always fought for his staff members and took care of them.
“He came from winning a World Series with the Cardinals and came in here. Instant credibility from a general manager, a guy who has done it and put teams together. He started there and putting this team together, those playoff-caliber years that we had signing guys, and he wasn’t afraid to trade.”
“Walt Jocketty was a dear friend, and I mourn his loss today," White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said. "A successful baseball executive with multiple organizations, beloved by all who knew him inside the game and out, and a tremendous human being to all. Walt battled to the very end and will be missed by many. My thoughts are with his family today, and I hope they are cheered by all the memories and friendships that will never fade.”