Associated Press National Writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report.
“He will be sorely missed but long remembered for his distinguished career in baseball.”Jocketty broke into baseball with the Oakland Athletics in 1980, winning a World Series ring in 1989.
Jocketty became the general manager in St. Louis on Oct. 14, 1994. After the team was sold in 1995, the new ownership kept Jocketty in his job. His biggest move was hiring La Russa in 1996. The two men had worked together in Oakland.La Russa would go on to be the winningest manager in the Cardinals history and a Hall of Famer.Jocketty revamped the team’s roster and in 1996 the Cardinals returned to postseason play for the first time in nine seasons.
In his tenure with St. Louis, Jocketty either drafted or acquired such stars as Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, Mark McGwire, Adam Wainright, Chris Carpenter, David Eckstein, Jason Isringhausen, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen and others.With Jocketty at the helm, St. Louis put together seven consecutive winning seasons. In 2004 and 2005, the Cardinals won more than 100 games.
He was named the MLB Executive of the Year in 2000, 2004 and 2010.
Leading up to the 2000 season, Jocketty became the first GM in baseball history to trade for a 20-game winner (Darryl Kile from Colorado) and a 40 home run hitter (Edmonds from Anaheim) in the same offseason.“I saw what Dude Perfect was doing, and then Mr. Beast, and they grew the channels like crazy, and encapsulated a massive audience, and I was like, ‘Man, I’m a sports player. I’m a professional. Like, why can’t I do that?’” DeChambeau said. “So I took it upon myself — I found the right team, got started, and five years later, here we are.”
Right in the middle of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, often referred to as the “Racing Capital of the World.”DeChambeau was there in part to film a behind-the-scenes documentary for LIV, which has a tournament in August just north of Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills. But he also was taking in the scene on the eve of the biggest single-day sporting event in the world, one that is expected to draw a
DeChambeau spent time with Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin. He launched tee shots with Andretti Global driver Kyle Kirkwood off the Turn 2 terrace onto Brickyard Crossing, the golf course with four holes inside the track. And he climbed into a fire suit for a two-seater ride around the 2.5-mile oval at speeds approaching 180 mph.“Going around the track was actually insane,” DeChambeau said. “I went off and I mean, it was the craziest. Now I understand racing. Yeah, I get it, like that feeling — a rush. It’s unlike anything you can experience elsewhere. It’s a rollercoaster, but way faster and lower to the ground, and I hated rollercoasters growing up. The G-forces are just incredible.”