Diamondbacks Manager Kirk Gibson Dismissed; Dave Stewart hired as GM

By Francisco Romero.-

Picture Courtesy mlb.com

The Arizona Diamondbacks announced the dismissal of Kirk Gibson as Manager and the hiring of Dave Stewart as the new General Manager.

Gibson joined the Diamondbacks in 2007 as the bench coach and became interim manager in 2010. Gibson was named National League Manager of the Year in 2011.

Gibson released the following statement: “I am extremely appreciative for this opportunity and I had a great experience with the Diamondbacks. I know we had a tough year and people will look at this as a negative, but we accomplished a lot of good things here. I told the team that I have nothing but the utmost respect for this organization and the people I’ve met along the way. Most of all, I’d like to thank the players, coaches, staff and everyone within the organization for their unwavering support while I was here.”

According to a press release by the Arizona Diamondbacks, the search for a new manager will start immediately. Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa, newly hired Sr. Vice President & GM Dave Stewart and Sr. Vice President, Baseball Operations De Jon Watson will be involved in the hiring process.

Stewart, a former pitcher who played for La Russa in Oakland, was announced as the organization’s new General Manager.

Bench coach Alan Trammell will manage the last three games of the season.

“Kirk has done an admirable job under difficult circumstances and we are grateful for his professionalism and his dedicated service to the organization over the past eight years,” said La Russa through a press release. “We feel like it is time for a fresh start and with our recent restructuring in Baseball Operations, we want to get started immediately moving in a new direction. We are also appreciative of Alan Trammell for all that he has done for the D-backs and have great respect for what both men have accomplished in the game of baseball.”

Trammell played 20 years in the majors with the Detroit Tigers.