by Maria Newman
(Original Link)
The Arizona Diamondbacks today fired Wally Backman as manager, four days after hiring him, team officials said at a news conference. Backman was replaced by the former Seattle skipper Bob Melvin.
Backman's firing came three days after The New York Times reported that he had been convicted of driving under the influence and had pleaded guilty to harassment charges. Diamondbacks executives have said that they were unaware of his problems until they were reported by The Times.
At today's news conference, Ken Kendrick, controlling investor, announced the change in manager and took the blame for not investigating Backman's past.
"I take full responsibility for that and I'm very sorry," Kendrick said.
Backman told The Arizona Republic today: "I'm stunned, so is my family, so is everybody. I'm not prepared to say anything today, but I will definitely have a statement."
On Thursday, he told The Republic that he believed the Diamondbacks would stick with him in spite of his troubles: "There have been things that have happened in my past I'm not proud of, but I'm confident in the job that I'm going to do for the Diamondbacks."
Kendrick said this week that the Diamondbacks had asked former employers about Backman but did not do a financial or criminal background check.
Backman, 45, helped the Mets win the 1986 World Series and has been known as an intense player, a quality the Diamondbacks apparently wanted to inject some energy into the a team that had the worst record in the major leagues this year. They gave Backman a two-year contract.
In the last four years, The Times reported this week, Backman has been arrested after a domestic dispute with his wife, Sandy, and for a drunken driving incident; and he has filed for bankruptcy. He was also found guilty of driving under the influence on Jan. 3, 2001, in Kennewick, Wash., spent one day in jail, was fined $560 and was ordered to complete a course on alcohol counseling.
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