Walt Jocketty, a legendary executive with the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals, has died, Major League Baseball confirmed Saturday. 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 CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement. “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 is best remembered for his 13-year stint as general manager of the Cardinals from October 1994 to October 2007. Under his watch, St. Louis won seven NL Central titles (1996, 2000, 2002, 2004-06), two National League pennants (2004 and 2006), and one World Series championship (2006).
During his time running the Cardinals, Jocketty traded for franchise stalwarts Chris Carpenter, Jim Edmonds, Mark McGwire, Scott Rolen, and Adam Wainwright, among others. He was also the general manager when St. Louis drafted future Hall of Famers Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols. Jocketty also hired manager Tony La Russa.
Prior to joining the Cardinals, Jocketty held a variety of roles with the A’s from 1980-93, including director of minor league operations and director of business administration. It was with Oakland that he first worked with La Russa before luring him to St. Louis. Jocketty was in the A’s front office when the team won three straight AL pennants from 1988-90, including the 1989 World Series.
Jocketty was instrumental in overhauling the minor leagues during his time with the A’s, including founding the Dominican Summer League and what is now the Arizona Complex League. Those are two very low levels of the minors that are a more appropriate level of competition for players just beginning their pro careers.
Most recently, Jocketty served as general manager of the Cincinnati Reds from April 2008 through the 2015 season, after which he was named president of baseball operations. Jocketty moved into a senior advisor role in December 2016. Jocketty also had a short stint with the Colorado Rockies as an assistant general manager in 2004.
Jocketty was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota before beginning his baseball career with the Athletics.