STATEMENT FROM METS CHAIRMAN & CEO FRED WILPON
“On behalf of all of us at the Mets, we extend our deepest condolences to Jean Cashen and her entire family. Frank Cashen revitalized our franchise when he took over in 1980 as General Manager and helped engineer us to a World Championship in 1986. I dealt with Frank on a daily basis and he was a man of integrity and great passion. No one had a more diverse career than Frank. He was also a lawyer, sports writer and marketing executive. His accomplishments will always be an integral part of our team history.”
STATEMENTS ABOUT FRANK CASHEN
Frank Cashen passed away today at the age of 88 at 12:10 p.m. at Memorial Hospital at Easton in Easton, MD after a short illness. He is survived by his wife, Jean, seven children and nine grandchildren. Below are statements from members of the Mets organization about Frank with more to follow.
Tim Teufel, Mets third base coach and former Mets infielder:
“He was a great architect for the championship Mets of the ‘80s. He had a great mind for the game. Above all, he was a decent, decent man and I enjoyed playing for him.”
Dwight Gooden, former Mets pitcher:
“Frank was willing to take a chance and jump me from A-ball to the majors. That always meant a lot to me. Also, he helped get me my No. 16. Lee Mazzilli had it before and Frank went to bat for me and said, ‘If that’s the number Doc wants, let him have it.’” (Gooden originally was assigned No. 35)
Bobby Ojeda, former Mets pitcher and SNY commentator:
“He was by far the smartest baseball man I’ve ever been in contact with. What the players loved about him was he cared more about you as a person than what you did on the baseball field.”
Wally Backman, manager of the Las Vegas 51s and former Mets infielder:
“I had dinner with Frank every spring ever since I came back with the Mets. He was a great baseball man. I liked to bounce ideas off of him. He was one of a kind.”
Darryl Strawberry, former Mets outfielder:
“Frank was our leader. I always admired the way he put together our team. He mixed young guys, like me and Doc, with guys like (Gary) Carter and (Keith) Hernandez. He was able to find the perfect blend to build a championship.”
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