Phil Seghi | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1909-03-09)March 9, 1909 Cedar Point, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | January 8, 1987(1987-01-08) (aged 77) |
| Occupation(s) | Baseball player, manager, scout and executive |
| Years active | 1932–1987 |
Philip Dominic Seghi (March 9, 1909 – January 8, 1987) was an American front-office executive inMajor League Baseball. A longtime associate ofGabe Paul, Seghi was credited with signingPete Rose, the all-time leader inhits, when Seghi wasfarm system andscouting director of theCincinnati Reds in1960.
He was born inCedar Point, Illinois, to anItalian immigrant family,[1] attendedNorthwestern University, and was aninfielder inminor league baseball during hisplaying career, which began in 1932 and essentially ended in 1949, with the exceptions of the wartime years of 1944–1945.
AfterWorld War II, Seghi was amanager in the lowerminor leagues in 1946–1955, working in thePittsburgh Pirates andCleveland Indians organizations. After joining the Redlegs (as the Reds were known from 1953 to 1958) as ascout, Seghi succeeded Bill McKechnie Jr. as Cincinnati's farm director after the1958 season. Serving under Paul and his successor,Bill DeWitt, Seghi remained with the Reds until1968, a period during which the Reds built a player development organization that provided the foundation for the "Big Red Machine" dynasty.
In1963, Seghi was promoted by DeWitt to assistant general manager, but a change in ownership and the arrival ofBob Howsam in1967 as GM caused Seghi to leave Cincinnati for theOakland Athletics at the close of that season. Led by flamboyant ownerCharlie Finley and awash with young talent, the A's also were on the verge of a dynasty, winning five consecutiveAmerican League West Division titles (1971–1975) and three consecutive AL pennants andWorld Series titles (1972–1974). From 1968 to 1971 Seghi served as Oakland's farm and scouting director and assistant to Finley, who was his own general manager.
By1972, however, Seghi was back working with Paul as assistant general manager of the Cleveland Indians, and succeeded Paul as the Indians' GM in1973. His most notable achievement occurred after the1974 season, when he and ownerNick Mileti[2] appointedFrank Robinson (signed and developed by the Cincinnati farm system of the 1950s) as Major League Baseball's firstAfrican-Americanmanager.[1] Seghi would serve 13 full seasons as Cleveland's general manager, but the Indians enjoyed only threeabove-.500 seasons during that time (1976,1979 and1981).
Seghi stepped down after the 1985 campaign to become a senior player personnel adviser with Cleveland. He died ofcancer inThousand Oaks, California, on January 8, 1987, at the age of 77.
| Preceded by | Cleveland IndiansGeneral Manager 1973–1985 | Succeeded by |