SAN DIEGO — Kevin Towers was baseball's version of a gunslinger, a seat-of-the-pants, throwback kind of guy who did whatever it took to make the San Diego Padres competitive, almost always with a limited payroll.
A former first-round draft pick who blew out his elbow and never pitched in the major leagues, Towers advanced through the Padres' organization and spent 14 years as general manager, a tenure that included four NL West titles and an appearance in the 1998 World Series.
Known around baseball simply as KT, Towers died Tuesday morning from complications of .cancer, with his wife, Kelley, at his side.