The Miami Marlins fired manager Ozzie Guillen with immediate effect Tuesday. It was his first season with the team and he led Miami to a dismal 69-93 record.
His sack came in the wake of too many losses suffered by the Marlins in recent times and an ill-advised remark.
His impressive show in April began to derail when he made a rather inappropriate statement about former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
The Associated Press quoted Larry Beinfest, the president of baseball operations of the Marlins as saying: "Let's face it. It was not a positive for the team; it was not a positive for Ozzie. It was a disappointment, no doubt about it."
They finished last in the NL East with their worst record since 1999.
Jeffrey Loris, the Marlins owner is looking for a new manager, the fifth for him, even though they owe Guillen $7.5 million for three more years left on the contract.
Beinfest said: "We all felt we had a pretty good ballclub coming out of spring training, and we just didn't play well. We all share in this. This is not a fun day for me, certainly not for Ozzie or Jeffrey or anybody involved.
"This is an organizational failure. But we felt like we needed to make this change so we could move forward."
Beinfest meanwhile will continue in his current role despite rumors that even he might be fired.
"We could definitely use some stability in the dugout," Beinfest added. "We're looking for a winner. At times we've done a better job of identifying that individual. Other times we haven't. We're going to try to find the right guy this time."
Guillen on the other hand, seemed unperturbed after his firing was announced.
He tweeted: "To the fans that support me and for those who are happy as well my love and respect to you. In life there are worse things and I have experienced them. I have lived through bad moments and I will get through this with support."
"The firing left me with my head held up high, real high."
Earier, Guillen had to serve a 5-game suspension following his controversial remark praising Castro. He had apologized several times at a news conference for his statement.
Guillen said in September: "That was a very, very hard situation for me and the people around me. It was maybe the worst thing I ever did."
Guillen accepted responsibility for the Marlins' dismal performance this year. He also stated that it was a shared responsibility as everybody had to contribute.
He said on the final day of the season: "With the job I did this year, do you think I deserve to be back here? Of course not. But I'm not the only one. ... Let's start from the top. The front office failed, Ozzie failed, the coaching staff failed, the players failed, everybody failed."
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