Giants' Magowan announces retirement
Posted: Fri May 16 7:26 PM
San Francisco, CA (Sports Network) - San Francisco Giants managing general partner Peter Magowan announced his plan to retire on Friday.
Magowan, who has been a member of the organization since the early 1990's, plans to step aside effective October 1. His successor will be William H. Neukom, who is a general partner in the Giants' ownership group. Following his retirement, Magowan will remain a partner in the franchise.
In addition, Giants executive vice president and chief operating officer Laurence M. Baer will become team president on that date.
The transition of power is subject to the approval of Major League Baseball, at its next owners meeting, August 13-14 in Washington, DC.
"It has been an honor to represent the Giants the last 16 years," Magowan said in a statement. "I will remain a partner and, of course, I will always be a Giants fan -- as I have been since I was eight years old. I have always felt that no individual or group of individuals is really the owner of a sports franchise because a team really belongs to the community."
The 66-year-old organized a purchase of the club in 1992, after then-owner Bob Lurie had a deal in place to sell the team to a group in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area.
His first major move was to sign slugger Barry Bonds to a then-record six- year, $43.75 million contract. Under his watch, the franchise made the postseason on four occasions. The Giants won the NL West in 1997, 2000 and 2003, and made a World Series appearance in 2002, ultimately losing to the Angels. San Francisco also recorded a pair of 100-win years: 1993 (103) and 2003 (100).
However, Magowan has come under fire for some moves, such as approving the seven-year, $126 million deal given to Barry Zito prior to the 2007 season.
"The decision was not an easy one. I have spent the last 29 years as head of two incredible organizations -- Safeway and the Giants. I put everything I had in terms of time, energy and commitment into my work and inevitably made some sacrifices. Now, I'd like to spend more time with my family."
