Mariners
M's ask Williams to take look

By Bob Finnigan
Seattle Times staff reporter

Jimy Williams has led three big-league teams.

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The Mariners have hired former major-league manager Jimy Williams to study their farm system.

Asked to confirm that Williams is working as a consultant for the club, general manager Bill Bavasi said, "That's too strong a description."

Acknowledged as a first-rate baseball man, Williams apparently is simply reporting on Seattle minor-league prospects and was at the Class AA San Antonio game Friday. Williams was fired by Houston at the All-Star break after 11½ years of managing — four at Toronto, five at Boston and the rest at Houston.

"We have a lot of decisions facing us this offseason," Bavasi explained. "I asked Jimy to look at our Double-A and Triple-A teams, but he didn't have enough time to do all we wanted, so he's looking at San Antonio."

Could this initial position with Seattle lead to Williams, 60, becoming a candidate for manager, should the club make a change from Bob Melvin?

"Don't even ask the question," Bavasi said, maintaining his refusal to broach the managing situation.

Williams was briefly a candidate for the Seattle job after Del Crandall was fired near the end of the 1984 season. While his baseball people considered Williams, owner George Argyros ordered them to save money by hiring Chuck Cottier.

"Jimy is a friend of mine," Bavasi said. "He was the Triple-A manager for Anaheim before I got started there, but I got to know him through (former Angels GM) Mike Port. We interviewed him in Anaheim when Terry (Collins) got the job (1997)."

Former Seattle GM Pat Gillick, now scouting for the club, is also close to Williams, and gave him his first managing job with Toronto (1986-89).

Williams was fired by the Jays in 1989, then managed Boston from 1997 to 2001. He joined the Astros and managed them to second-place finishes in 2002 and 2003.
 
When the Astros were 44-44 at the break this season — although picked to contend after signing Andy Pettitte, who was injured much of the year, and Roger Clemens — Houston let Williams go and replaced him with Phil Garner.

Bob Finnigan: 206-464-8276 or bfinnigan@seattletimes.com