Ex-Dodger Derrel Thomas Is Fired as Manager of the Boise Hawks

BOISE, Idaho — Former Dodger Derrel Thomas was fired Sunday as manager of the Boise Hawks, an independent team in the Northwest League, a rookie league.

General Manager Mal Fichman, who will manage the club for the final 38 games of the season, said the firing of Thomas stemmed from the club’s poor play--the Hawks are 9-28--and a belief that Thomas was losing control.

Fichman said that Thomas had argued with two players--on the field and in the clubhouse--during a four-game series in Bend, Ore., that ended Saturday and that “everything seemed to be falling apart, including his relationships. He seemed to be changing as a person. I’ve talked to him three times today and I sense that he feels a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. I think he’s relieved.”

Thomas, however, said that his firing wouldn’t improve the Hawks’ situation “because there’s a definite lack of talent.” He said that it is not abnormal in any classification for a manager to blow up at his players for “poor play and repeated fundamental mistakes.”

He acknowledged that he was probably not prepared to manage at a rock bottom level where the manager has to be everything at all times, particular with an independent team that is basically devoid of organizational support. He said he hoped to find a job as a coach or instructor.

“I hate not completing a challenge but I’d like to go into some other phase and then go back to managing,” he said.

Fichman said that neither Thomas’ hiring nor firing was based on a racial issue. Thomas, who is black, was hired in February, two months before former Dodger vice president Al Campanis made remarks on the television show “Nightline” that subsequently turned the status of minorities in baseball into a national issue.

“Derrel Thomas spent 15 years in the big leagues. He played eight positions in the big leagues. I thought he’d be the ideal man to teach baseball at the minor league level,” Fichman said.

“He played for me when I was running the Miami team a couple years ago and he always took time to help the younger players. He was enthusiastic, hard working and he wanted this job.

“The problem is, he’s scattered. He isn’t organized like a manager has to be, particularly at this level. I blame myself for that. I didn’t recognize it. I should have given him more schooling. He may end up being an outstanding major league coach, but managing is a different bailiwick. I don’t think he’ll ever be a major league manager.”