under Herman Franks, who had coached under and later replaced Dark as the manager of the Giants. While Dark had been disappointed at the replacement, the men had remained friends and were happy to work together again. His tenure with the Cubs was short-lived, as on May 28, he was hired to replace John McNamara as manager of the San Diego Padres. The Padres, who had a 21–28 record when he took over, had a 48–65 record for the rest of the season. Dark's contract called for him to manage for two years, but general manager Buzzie Bavasi was replaced with Bob Fontaine Sr. in 1978, and Fontaine preferred someone other than Dark to manage the ballclub. In the midst of spring training, on March 21, Dark was fired, replaced by Roger Craig. It was only the second time that a major league manager had been fired during spring training. Because his contract ran through 1979, the Padres still had to pay him for two years, much like the Indians had been obligated to do from 1971 to 1973. Dark ended his managerial career with a 994–954 record, good for a .510 winning percentage. During games he managed, Dark would stand in the front of his team's dugout with one foot up on the steps, drawing comparisons to Washington crossing the Delaware. He went beyond traditional statistics in evaluating players, using a point system to determine who his best were. Hits in key situations or hits that advanced a runner garnered points for players, but miscues such as overrunning a base or ignoring a sign would lead to a deduction. "There are winning .275 hitters and losing .310 hitters," Dark said of his system. Cepeda had a rather low score, which annoyed the player once he found out about it. Later in his managerial career, Dark stopped using the system, not wanting to cause resentment. Though Dark never managed again after 1978 spring training, he did hold two other baseball positions. In 1981, the Cubs hired him to be their farm system evaluator. Later, in 1986, the Chicago White Sox hired him to be their minor league director. He was thrilled that the White Sox were hiring former major league players to coach minor league teams, something not often seen at the time. Managerial record Legacy "Dark was a great hit-and-run guy, and very tough to strike out," Phil Rizzuto,