Marlins GM Dan Jennings becomes Miami’s manager

Published 11:02 am Tuesday, May 19, 2015

MIAMI — Even the mother of the Miami Marlins’ new manager is questioning the wisdom of the choice.

Marlins general manager Dan Jennings was selected Monday to replace Mike Redmond in the dugout. Jennings has 31 years of experience in professional baseball, but he never played in the majors and has never managed.

“It is outside the box, I will not deny that,” Jennings said at a news conference. “My mom, whom I love deeply, asked me, ‘Are you crazy? Have you lost your mind?”’

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Redmond was fired one-quarter of the way into his third season Sunday after the Marlins were nearly no-hit in a 6-0 loss to Atlanta. The defeat dropped Miami to 16-22, but team president David Samson said a change had been in the works since the Marlins started 3-11.

Jennings’ first game was Monday night, a 3-2 loss in 13 innings at home against Arizona.

The shake-up was the latest orchestrated by owner Jeffrey Loria, reinforcing his reputation for impatience. Jennings is Loria’s sixth manager since June 2010.

“Jeffrey Loria makes me laugh!” former Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones tweeted.

No other candidates were considered, Samson said, in part because the Marlins have gone through so many managers already.

“There’s nowhere else to look anymore,” Samson conceded.