Fred Claire

{{Short description|American Major League Baseball executive}} {{BLP sources|date=June 2010}} {{Infobox person | name = Fred Claire | image = | image_size = 200px | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1935|10|5}} | birth_place = [[Jamestown, Ohio]], U.S. | death_date =  | death_place = | other_names = | known_for = | education = | alma_mater = [[San Jose State University]] <br> [[El Camino College]] | employer = [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] | occupation = Vice-President/General Manager | years_active = 1987–1998 | term = | predecessor = [[Al Campanis]] | successor = [[Tommy Lasorda]] | spouse = Sheryl Claire | partner = | children = | parents = | relations = | callsign = | awards = | website = }} '''Fred Claire''' (born October 5, 1935) is an American former [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) executive who served in numerous roles for the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] from 1969 to 1998 including the role of [[general manager (baseball)|general manager]] from 1987 to 1998.

==Early life== Claire was born on October 5, 1935, in [[Jamestown, Ohio]]. His father owned and operated a drugstore. Claire has one brother and a sister. In 1950, Marston and Mary Francis Claire moved their family to [[Torrance, California]], a [[suburb]] of [[Los Angeles]]. Fred graduated from [[Torrance High School]], then obtained his [[bachelor's degree]] in journalism from [[San Jose State University]]. He holds an Associate of Arts degree from Mt. San Antonio College and has been honored by the college as an outstanding alumnus. He also attended [[El Camino College]], located in Torrance. While at El Camino, he had a paper published in ''[[Baseball Magazine]]'' called "Make Way for the Coast League" which discussed baseball on the west coast and turning the [[Pacific Coast League]] into a Major League.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oregonstadiumcampaign.com/images/interview/002/westcoast.pdf|title=Make Way for the Coast League|work=Baseball Magazine|first=Fred|last=Claire|date=July 1955|access-date=December 30, 2014}}</ref>

Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s, Claire worked as a sports editor/sports writer for the ''[[Whittier Daily News]]'', the ''[[Pomona Progress-Bulletin]]'', and the ''[[Press-Telegram|Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram]]''.<ref name=30years>{{cite book |last=Claire |first=Fred |date=2004 |title=My 30 Years in Dodger Blue |publisher= SportsPublishing LLC|isbn=1-58261-732-5 }}</ref> He married and had three children, Jen, Jeff, and Kim.

==Dodgers Public Relations executive== In the spring of 1969, Claire was assigned to cover the Dodgers during [[spring training]] in [[Vero Beach, Florida]], for the ''Press-Telegram''. During the season, one of the assistants in the public relations department for the Dodgers was fired. Claire expressed his interest in the position to Dodger executives and was hired in July 1969. He worked in that same position until 1975 when his boss, Dodgers [[vice president]] of public relations, Red Patterson, left to work for the [[Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim|California Angels]]. Claire moved into Patterson's position. During his time as VP of Public Relations, he was instrumental in creating the branding that came to be known as "[[Dodger blue]]" and the subsequent "Think Blue" campaign and also the hiring of announcer [[Ross Porter (American broadcaster)|Ross Porter]]. Porter would remain a Dodger announcer from 1977 until 2004.<ref name=30years/>

==Dodgers general manager== On April 6, 1987, Dodgers General Manager [[Al Campanis]] accepted the offer to appear on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC's]] news program ''[[Nightline (US news program)|Nightline]]'' to talk about his thoughts on the 40th anniversary of [[Jackie Robinson]] breaking the color barrier. Campanis did not alert anyone in the Dodgers organization that he would be on the show. When asked why more African-Americans had not become baseball managers or executives, he stated, "I truly believe they may not have some of the necessities to be, let's say, a field manager, or perhaps, a general manager. Why are black people not good swimmers? Because they don't have [[buoyancy]]." These comments stunned the baseball world. Campanis, who did not have a reputation as a racist and was one of the few Dodger players to welcome Robinson during his debut, was forced to resign his post with the Dodgers 48 hours after the program's airing with Claire assuming player personnel responsibilities.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=f6gpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ee8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6865,4992878&dq=baseball+fred-claire&hl=en|title=Campanis' remarks cost him job with Dodgers|date=9 April 1987|work=[[The Spokesman-Review]]|agency=Associated Press|page=C3|access-date=4 June 2010}}</ref><ref name="ESPN Story: The Legacy of Al Campanis">{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/7751398/how-al-campanis-controversial-racial-remarks-cost-career-highlighted-mlb-hiring-practices |title=The legacy of Al Campanis |first=Wiloiam |last=Weinbaum |work=[[ESPN.com]] |date=April 1, 2012 |access-date=December 16, 2015}}</ref>

Dodgers president [[Peter O'Malley]] moved Claire into the general manager position. After a dismal 1987 season, Claire rebuilt the team into an instant playoff contender. During the offseason before the 1988 season, Claire acquired veteran [[outfielder]]s [[Kirk Gibson]] and [[Mike Davis (baseball player)|Mike Davis]], veteran [[shortstop]] [[Alfredo Griffin]], and [[pitchers]] [[Jay Howell]] and [[Jesse Orosco]]. The Dodgers would go on to win the 1988 [[World Series]] against the heavily favored [[Oakland Athletics]] in just five games.

His later moves were not as successful. On November 8, 1990, the Dodgers gave [[free agent]] outfielder [[Darryl Strawberry]] a five-year contract worth $20 million. At the time it looked like a good deal. Strawberry hit 37 [[home run]]s with a .277 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] in 1989 for the [[New York Mets]]. However, Strawberry's time with the Dodgers was characterized by chronic back problems, drug abuse and overall underachievement.

The following year, on November 27, 1991, Claire traded pitchers [[Tim Belcher]] and [[John Wetteland]] to the [[Cincinnati Reds]] for outfielder [[Eric Davis (baseball)|Eric Davis]] and pitcher [[Kip Gross]]. It was supposed to set up a reunion of childhood friends Strawberry and Davis. However, Davis was also plagued by injuries throughout his less than 2-year stint with the Dodgers. He was traded to the [[Detroit Tigers]] in August 1993. Wetteland, was traded from the Reds to the [[Montreal Expos]] less than a month after he had joined the Reds. Wetteland went on to become one of the most dominating relief pitchers in MLB throughout the rest of the 1990s. Darryl Strawberry was given his outright release on May 26, 1994, after he failed to show up to a game.

The transaction even Claire would later regret occurred in 1994. In need of a [[second baseman]] after a contract dispute with [[Jody Reed]], Claire sent the talented [[Pedro Martínez]] to Montreal for [[Delino DeShields]]. Martinez became one of the best pitchers in MLB for the next decade and a half. Martinez was selected to 8 [[All Star]] teams and won the [[Cy Young Award]] in 1997, 1999 and 2000 and, eventually, was inducted into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|National Baseball Hall of Fame]]. Deshields spent three years as the Dodgers starting second baseman in which he was more known for his various injuries and numerous complaints that the Dodgers did not have enough black players on the team.

==FOX takeover/Claire's removal== Claire continued as the Dodger general manager through the 1997 season. When [[Rupert Murdoch]]'s [[News Corporation (1980–2013)|News Corporation]], owner of the [[Fox network]] and [[20th Century Fox]] purchased the team from the O'Malleys in 1998, officials stated that Claire and field manager [[Bill Russell (shortstop)|Bill Russell]] would remain in their positions. On May 15, 1998, new Dodger officials made a blockbuster trade without the involvement or knowledge of general manager Claire, a move that was unheard of in baseball at the time. The trade was one of the biggest in Dodger history. The Dodgers traded [[Mike Piazza]] and [[Todd Zeile]] to the [[Florida Marlins]] for [[Gary Sheffield]], [[Charles Johnson (catcher)|Charles Johnson]], [[Jim Eisenreich]] and [[Bobby Bonilla]]. Claire was furious that the new FOX officials would make such a deal as Piazza had been with the organization for over a decade and Zeile had signed for less than [[market value]] to be closer to his home in suburban [[Santa Clarita]]. Claire, who had full control of player transactions before FOX took over, pulled no punches when he was asked his feeling on the trade. On June 21, 1998, Claire and Russell were both relieved of their duties in what was deemed by those in baseball as the "Sunday Night Massacre." Russell was replaced by [[Glenn Hoffman]] as manager, and Claire by [[Tommy Lasorda]] as the general manager.

== References == {{Reflist}}

==See also== {{S-start}} {{S-ach|aw}} {{Succession box| before=[[Al Rosen]]| title=[[Sporting News]] [[Major League Baseball]] [[The Sporting News Executive of the Year Award|Executive of the Year]]| years=1988| after=[[Roland Hemond]] }} {{S-sports}} {{Succession box| title=[[Managers and ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers|Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager]]| before=[[Al Campanis]]| after=[[Tommy Lasorda]] | years={{Baseball year|1987}}–{{Baseball year|1998}}}} {{S-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claire, Fred}} [[Category:1935 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Los Angeles Dodgers executives]] [[Category:Major League Baseball general managers]] [[Category:People from Jamestown, Ohio]] [[Category:El Camino College alumni]] [[Category:Baseball writers]] [[Category:San Jose State University alumni]] [[Category:Sportswriters from Ohio]]