UNCATEGORIZED

Kevin Towers: A good man who built a bad team

Sep 5, 2014, 6:08 PM | Updated: Jul 26, 2024, 9:32 am

Kevin Towers was demoted this week.The Diamondbacks are looking for a new general manager. If you never had the chance to get to know Kevin Towers, I think you would have enjoyed knowing him.

It’s easy to forget, but he took one of the worst bullpens in baseball history and transformed the team into a 2011 division champion that would have made the NLCS if not for a vitriol-wielding, dishonest, cheating disgrace to the game. Following 2001, Towers engineered three enormous trades for the Arizona Diamondbacks. I disagreed with all three trades at the time, yet that never changed my respect for Kevin Towers.

There’s no way to sugarcoat it: KT traded major prospects and projected hopefuls. Trading for Didi Gregorius, Martin Prado and Mark Trumbo did not make, or, at least, has not made, the Diamondbacks better. The jury is still out on whether or not he lost all three trades, but it would take a herculean effort to prove he has a chance to win any of them. When you make major trades and go .500, you normally get put on notice as a GM. When you’re on notice and you raise the payroll to the highest level in franchise history just to have a disastrous season, almost every franchise will fire you. The Diamondbacks are no different.

I got a text late Thursday night letting me know Towers had been fired. Just like everyone else, we got word Friday morning that Towers had not been fired, but re-assigned. We all knew it would happen, but I was still surprised. I thought it would happen next week before Monday Night Football or maybe in a few weeks before ASU/UCLA. When the news went public, I checked my email and Twitter feed. I didn’t get what I thought I would.

I’m sure there are zero Diamondback fans that wake up in the morning hoping to earn my respect, but I was really impressed with the local reaction. Almost every tweet or email I received seemed happy the saga of “what will happen” was over. However, only a couple attacked Towers personally. I was happy to see that because Kevin Towers gave everything he had to the Diamondbacks, even when it was clear that the end was near.

It’s rare in any walk of life to find someone who knows their job will end soon without letting it affect their determination to succeed at their profession. There will be quite a lot of things said over the next couple weeks about the former Arizona GM, but I think it boils down to a simple narrative: Kevin Towers is a good man who didn’t get it done.

Uncategorized

Tyler Reddick, center, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Ho...

Associated Press

NASCAR Championship Weekend rolls into Phoenix with no clear favorite

There is no clear favorite among NASCAR's four championship contenders as they had to Phoenix Raceway for Sunday's winner-take-all finale.

3 months ago

Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Davonte' Neal #19 runs upfield during the first half of the Pac-12 c...

Arizona Sports

Former Arizona Wildcats football player DaVonte’ Neal pleads guilty to murder

Former Arizona Wildcats football player Davonte' Neal has pleaded guilty to the 2017 murder of 25-year-old Bryan Burns.

5 months ago

2024 MLB Draft...

Ryan Pasiecznik

ESPN’s McDaniel: D-backs SS JD Dix a sleeper from 2024 MLB Draft

Of the Arizona Diamondbacks' 22 draft picks, shortstop JD Dix (No. 35) could be a sleeper prospect with his offensive potential.

7 months ago

Promotions

D-backs Autographed Prize Pack

Register below to win a Ketel Marte, Jake McCarthy, Torey Lovullo & Gerardlo Perdomo Autographed pack

8 months ago

Diana Taurasi #3 of the Phoenix Mercury walks on the court during a break in the first quarter of a...

Associated Press

Copper and Taurasi score 20 each, Phoenix tops Washington

Kahleah Copper and Diana Taurasi scored 20 points each and the Phoenix Mercury beat the Washington Mystics on Thursday night.

9 months ago

Elijah Jones looks on...

Tyler Drake

Cardinals sign rookie CB Elijah Jones to 4-year contract

The Arizona Cardinals signed third-round pick and cornerback Elijah Jones to a four-year contract on Wednesday.

9 months ago

Kevin Towers: A good man who built a bad team