Kevin Towers, Former San Diego Padres General Manager, Dies

SAN DIEGO, CA – Former San Diego Padres General Manager Kevin Towers has died of cancer. He was 56 years old.

Towers was employed with the Padres from 1995 to 2009, during which time the team won the National League West four times and reached the 1998 World Series against the New York Yankees. He was general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2010 to 2014.

"We are profoundly saddened by the loss of Kevin Towers, who passed away early this morning after a courageous battle with cancer," Padres Executive Chairman Ron Fowler and General Partner Peter Seidler said in a joint statement.

"Kevin spent nearly 30 years in the Padres organization as a player, scout and front office executive. He led our club with strength, conviction and unwavering determination, and was beloved by all who knew him. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, especially his wonderful wife, Kelley."

Towers was diagnosed with anaplastic thyroid cancer in late 2016, but news of that diagnosis didn't become public knowledge until October during Game 4 of the World Series. That when's Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch held up a placard with Towers' name during a mid-game promotion for the research fundraising organization Stand Up to Cancer.

Hinch told media after the game that Towers "means a lot to me."

"He means a lot to the people within the game for many, many years," Hinch said. "He's done everything in the game. I wanted to put someone on there that was a baseball person that has resonated across the game at so many levels for so many years, and we just keep rooting for KT to have a recovery."

Towers was a native of Medford, Oregon, who played college baseball at Brigham Young University in Utah.

He was drafted by the Padres as a pitcher but never made it to the Majors.

He experienced much more success as a front office executive, helping to lead the Padres to four of their five playoff appearances in franchise history. He was fired in 2009 after two losing seasons.

By City News Service; Kristina Houck/Patch contributed to this report.

AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File