Joe McDonald (baseball executive)

Joseph A. McDonald

• Born July 5, 1929 in Staten Island, NY, USA

Biographical Information

Joe McDonald was a member of the New York Mets organization between 1965 and 1980. He was the New York Mets' Administrative Secretary, Minor League Clubs, where he dealt with minor league operations in 1965 and 1966. In 1967, he was the Mets' Director of Scouting. In 1968, he moved up and became the Mets' Director of Minor League Operations, and he stayed in that position until 1971. In 1972, he served as the Mets' Director of Player Development Operations. In 1973, he again became the Mets' Director of Minor League Operations, and he stayed in that position until October, 1974, when he was promoted to the general manager position. From 1975 to 1979, McDonald was the Mets' general manager, although much of the decision-making (such as the 1977 "Midnight Massacre" trades of stars Tom Seaver and Dave Kingman) was done by or at the behest of Chairman of the Board M. Donald Grant. Upon Grant's firing after the 1978 season, McDonald was promoted to Vice President and General Manager in 1979. But with the sale of the team following that season, McDonald's days with the Mets were numbered. In 1980, with Frank Cashen being brought aboard as general manager by new owners Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon, McDonald was the Vice President and assistant general manager, and he left the organization after that season.

In 1981, he became the St. Louis Cardinals Executive Assistant, where he served as an assistant general manager. He served in that position until April 10, 1982, which is when he became the Cardinals' general manager. He resigned from that post on January 3, 1985.

In 1987 he became the Detroit Tigers' Director of Player Development (he also served as vice president). He stayed in that position until 1991, when he became a Senior Vice President and also a general manager. He stayed in that position until 1992.

McDonald's son, Jody, is a sports talk radio host in Philadelphia. He has also worked for WFAN in New York and has appeared on television as a horse racing analyst.

Preceded by Bob Scheffing

New York Mets General Manager 1975-1979

Succeeded by Frank Cashen

Preceded by Whitey Herzog

St. Louis Cardinals General Manager 1982-1984

Succeeded by Dal Maxvill

Preceded by Bill Lajoie

Detroit Tigers General Manager 1991-1992

Succeeded by Jerry Walker