Mike Hargrove Takes Over His Former Semi-Pro Team In Kansas

Saturday, September 15th 2007, 3:52 pm

By: News On 6

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ More than two months after abruptly stepping down as manager of the Seattle Mariners, Mike Hargrove has decided to take over the semi-pro summer baseball team in southwest Kansas he played for more than 30 years ago.

The 57-year-old former Northwestern Oklahoma State standout will manage the Liberal BeeJays, one of the nation's most successful summer teams for college-age players in Liberal, Kansas, about 50 miles from where he grew up in Perryton, Texas.

Hargrove says working with the BeeJays sounds interesting and exciting and fun and that if he can help them then it's the best of both worlds.

Hargrove resigned July 1st from the Mariners, saying he couldn't muster the daily dedication he has demanded from players for his 15 1/2 seasons as a big-league manager. He left when Seattle was soaring at 12 games over .500.

But Hargrove now plans to spend June through August in Liberal, where he played first base for the BeeJays in the summer of 1972 while on the Northwestern roster.