Jack Zduriencik

John A. Zduriencik

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.
• School California University of Pennsylvania, Austin Peay State University
• High School New Castle High School
• Born January 11, 1951 in New Castle, PA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Second baseman Jack Zduriencik played in the Chicago White Sox farm system in 1973 and 1974. He hit .172/~.281/.222 for the GCL White Sox in 1973 and was 1 for 15 with a walk for the Appleton Foxes. In 1974, Jack went 2 for 29 with Appleton, getting no RBI or extra-base hits, drawing two walks, scoring a run and striking out 11 times.

After his playing career, he was a high school coach and big league scout. One school he coached at was Clairton High School. He was Director of Scouting for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1991 to 1993, farm director for the New York Mets from 1996 to 1997 and special assistant to the GM of the Mets in 1998-1999. He joined the Milwaukee Brewers in 1999 as the team's Director of Amateur Scouting, and he headed up the Brewers' amateur drafts in which players including Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, and Ryan Braun were drafted in the first round. Zduriencik held this position through the end of the 2008 season.

On October 22, 2008, Zduriencik was hired as the new General Manager of the Seattle Mariners. He stayed in the position for 8 seasons, until August 28, 2015, when he was fired and replaced on an interim basis by his assistant, Jeff Kingston. The Mariners failed to make the postseason during his tenure. Contrary to his time in Milwaukee, Zduriencik did not have much success through the draft in the Pacific Northwest; only one player taken on his watch, Kyle Seager, became a star, while top-five draft picks Dustin Ackley, Mike Zunino and Danny Hultzen failed to become impact players. He had more success on the free agent front, with Hisashi Iwakuma, Nelson Cruz, Fernando Rodney and Robinson Cano all becoming solid contributors, although he was much criticized for the size of Cano's contract, and its length - ten years.

Zduriencik was very active on the trade front, dealing Mariners icon Ichiro Suzuki in 2012 and making a series of other high profile trades, such as those that landed Cliff Lee, Jesus Montero or Milton Bradley. Results were mixed, with the Mariners failing to improve and often giving up solid young players, such as P Michael Pineda. Another point of criticism was the continual turnover of managers: he hired Don Wakamatsu in 2009, but fired him only a year later to replace him with Eric Wedge. However, the two had disagreements, leading to the hiring of Lloyd McClendon.

Following his tenure with the Mariners, he became a radio broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Preceded by Lee Pelekoudas

Seattle Mariners General Manager 2008-2015

Succeeded by Jeff Kingston

Sources

1974-1975 Baseball Guides