D-Backs let Backman go after investigation into background
PHOENIX -- After just four days on the job, Wally Backman was fired Friday as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks following revelations that he had been arrested twice and had serious financial problems.
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The Diamondbacks replaced Backman with former Seattle Mariners manager Bob Melvin, an Arizona bench coach when the team won the 2001 World Series.
Before hiring Backman, the Diamondbacks didn't do any criminal or financial checks and were unaware of his problems until they were reported Tuesday in the New York Times. The Diamondbacks then hired a company to conduct an independent background check, managing partner Ken Kendrick said.
"It's obviously a mistake on our part to have made a decision without having done the proper background work that could have been done, should have been done. I take full responsibility for that, and I'm very sorry," Kendrick said.
After their investigation, he added, "We determined that it wasn't in the Diamondbacks' interest or our fans' interest that Wally be our manager." Kendrick wouldn't say what new information, if any, Arizona's investigation uncovered, saying that such disclosure would be unfair to Backman and his family.
Backman was asked in his final interview whether there was anything in his past that the Diamondbacks should know, and he answered no, Kendrick said.
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| Bob Melvin was Arizona's bench coach when the Diamondbacks won the World Series in 2001. (AP) |
Backman never signed a contract and won't be compensated, Kendrick said. Calls to Backman were referred to his agent Terry Bross, who was out of his office and unavailable for comment.
It would have been the first major-league managing job for Backman, a second baseman who played 14 seasons and helped the New York Mets win the 1986 World Series.
He was arrested in 2001 after a fight at his home involving his wife and one of her friends in Prineville, Ore. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment and was sentenced to 12 months' probation, ordered to undergo an anger management evaluation and donate $1,000 to the local Boys and Girls Club.
Backman was also arrested, and later convicted, on a driving under the influence charge in Kennewick, Wash., in 2000.
