Summer job for Hargrove

In July, Mike Hargrove was given the key to Liberal, Kan., during a ceremony at a Liberal BeeJays baseball game.

Little did Hargrove suspect that the visit to Liberal (population: 20,384) would unlock the door that brought him back into the managing world.

Two-and-a-half months after his stunning decision to resign from the Mariners on July 1, Hargrove has decided to return to the dugout.

He will manage the BeeJays, a semipro summer team made of college players and located about 45 miles north of his hometown of Perryton, Texas.

Hargrove himself played for the BeeJays in 1972, and his son, Andy — now an infielder in the Mariners' organization — played for them in 2001. Hargrove said the job, which runs from June through August, will allow him to dip his toes back into managing.

Before he left the Mariners, "I hadn't lost my passion for the game," Hargrove said by phone. "My passion for the job had diminished a little bit."

He said he and his wife, Sharon, talked about giving back to the people and programs that gave them opportunities.

"It seemed like a good way to give back."

Asked whether this was a sign that his itch to manage is coming back, Hargrove replied, "Yes, it probably is. I'm certainly not looking to manage in the big leagues again in the next year or so, but I'd certainly be interested down the line. I don't know if anyone will call me to do it again."

For now, Hargrove will be trying to revive one of the signature programs in the Jayhawk League. The BeeJays won the National Baseball Congress World Series in 2000 but slipped to 22-24 last year.

Hargrove and Sharon will live in the home of his longtime friend, Bob Carlile, the BeeJays' general manager, who has long been involved with the team. In fact, Hargrove befriended Carlile in '72, and Andy Hargrove lived with the Carliles when he played for them. Bob Carlile's wife died recently.

"He's got a great, big house and he's in it by himself," Hargrove said. "I told Bob he has a manager and a cook in the deal."

Carlile first broached the idea when Hargrove came to town this summer for "Mike Hargrove Night" and was honored at a BeeJays game.

Hargrove seemed intrigued, but when he and Sharon returned to Cleveland, Carlile was reluctant to bring up the subject again. But Carlile said that Sharon called him the Thursday before Labor Day. When he asked her what Mike was going to do next summer, she replied, "Manage a baseball team."

"Which one?" asked Carlile.

"Yours."

Hargrove's compensation will be minimal. He and Carlile joked that he should sign a $1 contract, prompting Sharon to propose it be a dollar and a nickel.

"The nickel's my agent fee," she told Carlile.

The news had begun to filter through the Mariners' clubhouse before their game Friday against Tampa Bay.

"That's very refreshing," said John McLaren, Hargrove's successor as Mariners' manager. "He's going back to where it all started. I know he's still got a love for the game. I really think it's kind of neat. I plan on calling him and congratulating him and talking to him about it. It's pretty cool."

Raul Ibanez was incredulous when reporters told him.

"For, like, fun? It's almost like a beer league, right?"

Added Ibanez, when the job was explained: "I don't see what's the big deal. He wants to help out those kids. That seems like it would be a fun thing for him to do. My take is: He's retired. He can do whatever the heck he wants to do.

"He's a good man. He's got a beautiful family. He was great to play for, and he was great to be around. I'm happy for him that he's happy."

The summer job would seem to preclude Hargrove managing in the majors next season, but he quipped, "If a major-league team called and had interest, I'd imagine the BeeJays would let me out of my contract. Even though I haven't signed one yet."

Seattle Times staff reporter Greg Bishop contributed to this report.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com