San Diego Padres Part Ways with Team President Dee

SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Padres announced the departure of Mike Dee as the team's president and CEO Wednesday.

A brief statement from Padres Executive Chairman Ron Fowler and Managing Partner Peter Seidler did not say whether Dee was fired or resigned.

Dee was hired in July 2013, nearly one year after Fowler, Seidler and other partners took over the local Major League Baseball franchise.

He previously worked in the team's front office from 1995 to 2002.

In three full seasons under his tenure, the Padres finished third, fourth and fifth in the five-team National League West division -- a combined 48 games below a .500 record.

Off the field, the Padres were embroiled in a series of controversies, including a fiasco in which an incorrect recording of the National Anthem was played while the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus performed before a game in May, subjecting them to ridicule.

Fans also panned the naming of a Petco Park plaza after former baseball commissioner Bud Selig, the firing of popular public address announcer Frank Anthony and the drafting of mercurial quarterback Johnny Manziel.

However, Dee also helped attract this year's All-Star Game to San Diego and oversaw renovations to the team's downtown ballpark.

- City News Service / Image via San Diego Padres Facebook