San Francisco Giants Managing General Partner Peter Magowan
yesterday announced his retirement.
Photo by Luke Thomas

By Maya Strausberg

May 17, 2008

The San Francisco Giants will be losing one of their own at the end of the regular season but it won’t be based on a trade.

Managing General Partner Peter Magowan Friday announced that he will retire from his position Oct. 1 after more than a dozen years with the organization.

“It has been an honor to represent the Giants the last 16 years,” Magowan said in a prepared statement. “I will remain a partner and, of course, I will always be a Giants fan — as I have been since I was eight years old. I have always felt that no individual or group of individuals is really the owner of a sports franchise because a team really belongs to the community.”

Magowan will be succeeded as managing general partner by William Neukom, who is currently a general partner in the ownership group. Vice President and CEO Laurence Baer will take over the president position.

Magowan said the decision was a hard one but felt that it was the right time and wants to be able to be there for his growing family.

“I put everything I had in terms of time, energy and commitment into my work and inevitably I made some sacrifices. Now I’d like to spend more time with my family. Four years ago, I had one grandchild, and now I have 10. This just seems like the right time for me to move on,” he said.

Baer has been with the Giants since 1993 and is a fourth generation San Franciscan.

“I will be forever grateful for the partnership Peter and I have shared these past 16 years,” he said. “I look forward to working with Bill and the entire organization to continue the rich tradition of Giants baseball and to make San Francisco one of the best baseball towns in the country.”

Neukom has been a member of the ownership group since 1995 and a general partner since 2003. He was raised in San Mateo and lived next door to San Francisco Seals owner Charlie Graham Jr.

“While no one will be able to match what Peter has accomplished these past 16 years, I am excited about the opportunity before me, and I look forward to continuing the great work of this organization,” Neukom said.

Magowan said his departure was not based on the baseball steroids scandal or the team’s not-so-stellar record this season