GM James Click Part Ways With Astros After World Series Win
Less than a week after winning the World Series, the Houston Astros are parting ways with general manager James Click. Jim Crane, the team’s owner, made the announcement on Friday after apparently only offering Click a one-year contract.
GM James Click Part Ways With Astros After World Series Win
In the wake of the sign-stealing controversy, Click, a former executive with the Tampa Bay Rays, was hired in early 2020, taking over as general manager for the suspended and fired Jeff Luhnow. Click continued the Astros’ dominant winning streak of the era despite the unrest and mistrust. The squad participated in the tournament every year and twice advanced to the World Series, winning it this year.
GM James Click turns down his one-year offer and leaves the #Astros
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 11, 2022
ESPN’s Jeff Passan turned down Crane’s offer of a one-year contract, which would have returned him to the lame-duck status he shared with manager Dusty Baker in 2022.
“We are grateful for all of James’ contributions,” Crane said in a statement. “We have had great success in each of his three seasons, and James has been an important part of that success. I want to personally thank him and wish him and his family well moving forward.”
Houston #Astros owner Jim Crane, despite their differences, knew he had to make GM James Click an offer after winning the World Series.
Crane also made an offer that he probably knew Click would reject.
It’ll be intriguing how many front office employees hired by Click will stay.— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 11, 2022
Click’s contract expired on Oct. 31, and he was “quite upset” with owner Jim Crane’s offer, according to The Post’s Jon Heyman — who called it an “invitation to leave.”
Despite the impact of the team’s cheating incident, the 44-year-old kept the Astros among MLB’s most serious contenders by producing back-to-back World Series appearances.
James Click will not return as Astros GM next season, per @Chandler_Rome pic.twitter.com/kYk6JIk6Ae
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 11, 2022
The World Series champions not keeping the top baseball executive for the upcoming season is unusual in the modern, front-office-centric history of the sport, despite reports from October suggesting a hazy disagreement between Click and Crane. The last major baseball executive to leave a World Series champion before the start of the following season was Larry MacPhail of the Yankees in 1947. This was the result of an incident during the celebration in which he struck a journalist while intoxicated, among other misdemeanours.
If James Click needs a year to figure out his next home, he should come hang out in Boston. pic.twitter.com/VXjBIEtYHS
— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) November 11, 2022
The Astros are reportedly the first team to be looking for a new general manager after winning the World Series since the Yankees’ Larry MacPhail was replaced by George Weiss in 1947, according to the Associated Press.
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