Walter Joseph Jocketty (February 19, 1951 – April 25, 2025) was an American professional baseball executive. He served in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB) as
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
of the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
from 1994 to 2007, and general manager, president of baseball operations, and executive advisor for the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
from 2008 until his death in 2025.
Early life
Jocketty was born in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
on February 19, 1951. He had two brothers and two sisters.
Jocketty attended Marshall-University High School in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
. He played
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, and
hockey
''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
in high school. Jocketty attended the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
, where he earned a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in business administration.
[
]
Career
Oakland and Colorado
Jocketty began working for the Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...
beginning in March 1980, when he was hired by owner Charlie Finley
Charles Oscar Finley (February 22, 1918 – February 19, 1996), nicknamed "Charlie O" or "Charley O", was an American businessman who owned Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas ...
as Director of Minor League Operations and Scouting.[St. Louis Cardinals 2006 Media Guide. Hadler Printing Co.. Page 9.] It was in this capacity that Jocketty took a lead role in overhauling the A's minor league system, and was also instrumental in founding the Arizona Rookie League
The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it fo ...
and the Dominican Summer League
The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only ...
.[ Less than five years into his time with Oakland, Jocketty was promoted to Director of Baseball Administration, a post he held the remainder of his time in Oakland. During the 1994 season Jocketty served the ]Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...
for a brief stint as their assistant general manager of player personnel.[
]
St. Louis Cardinals
Jocketty was hired as general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals on October 14, 1994. When Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC ( ) is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple ...
sold the team following the 1995 season, the new ownership chose to retain Jocketty. He was instrumental in bringing new manager Tony La Russa
Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager (baseball), manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis C ...
, whom he had worked with in Oakland, to St. Louis.
During his time as Cardinal GM, the Cardinals compiled seven National League Central Division championships (1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006), two National League
National League often refers to:
*National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada
*National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
Championships (2004 and 2006), and one World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
Championship (2006). The Cardinals had seven straight winning seasons under Jocketty, including 100+ win seasons in 2004 and 2005. Jocketty won ''The Sporting News'' Executive of the Year Award three times, in 2000, 2004, and 2010.
Jocketty was fired by the Cardinals organization on October 3, 2007. Team owner Bill DeWitt cited divisiveness in the baseball operations front office as the reason for Jocketty's dismissal.
Cincinnati Reds
Jocketty was hired as a special advisor to the Cincinnati Reds on January 11, 2008. Jocketty's role was to advise and assist the team in their baseball operations which includes the front office, personnel, scouting, minor and international operations and training and medical services. He was named the next general manager of the Reds after Wayne Krivsky was fired on April 23, 2008.
After the 2010 season, Jocketty was named ''Sporting News'' Executive Of Year. After the 2015 season, he was named to the new position of president of baseball operations
In Major League Baseball, the general manager (GM) of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players.
Roles and responsibilities
The general m ...
. On December 27, 2016, he was named executive advisor to the CEO.
Death
Walt Jocketty died on April 25, 2025, at the age of 74.
References
External links
*
* 200
news conference
about the sudden death of Cardinal pitcher Darryl Kile
Darryl Andrew Kile (December 2, 1968 – June 22, 2002) was an American professional baseball starting pitcher. He pitched from 1991 to 2002 for three Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, primarily for the Houston Astros. Kile was known for his sha ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jocketty, Walt
1951 births
2025 deaths
Carlson School of Management alumni
Major League Baseball general managers
St. Louis Cardinals executives
Cincinnati Reds executives
Major League Baseball presidents of baseball operations