Former MLB Executive of the Year Walt Jocketty has died at the age of 74.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today confirmed Jocketty’s passing on Saturday. Nightengale added that Jocketty had been dealing with “serious health issues” for the past two years.
Awful news: Walt Jocketty, the fabulous GM of the Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds, has died at the age of 74.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 26, 2025
Jocketty, one of the finest, nicest and genuine executives in all of baseball, has been battling serious health issues the past 2 years.
Jocketty is best remembered for his lengthy tenure as general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, a role he served in from 1994 to 2007. He was key in turning the Cardinals into one of the most successful organizations of the 2000s, and notably, his regime was responsible for drafting and developing Albert Pujols. The Cardinals won seven NL Central titles on his watch, along with the National League pennant twice and a World Series title in 2006.
Jocketty was fired after the 2007 season in a front office power struggle and moved on to the Cincinnati Reds. Jocketty became the Reds’ GM in 2008 and he helped turn that organization into a winner, winning the NL Central in 2010 and 2012. He had stepped back from his front office job in recent years, but still worked for the Reds as an executive advisor to the CEO.
In addition to those two jobs, Jocketty worked for the Oakland Athletics and Colorado Rockies during the early part of his career.
During Jocketty’s executive career, he won MLB Executive of the Year honors three times — twice with St. Louis in 2000 and 2004, and again with the Reds in 2010.
