Veeck steps down to be with daughter

Mike Veeck has resigned as marketing czar of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, saying that his proper place now is not in baseball but by the side of his 7-year-old daughter, Rebecca, who is going blind.

Veeck, known for his outlandish promotions throughout the minor leagues, will remain on staff as a marketing and creative consultant but will work from his home. His daughter, Rebecca, has retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that almost certainly will take her sight.

The Devil Rays named John Browne, director of corporate sales, to replace Veeck. Veeck will continue to draw his salary and said he could return to his full-time position.

Veeck brought a fresh breath of creativity to the franchise, but the market has not responded as he had hoped. The Devil Rays' attendance, disappointing last year by expansion-team standards, had slipped to an average of 21,145 through May 26, down more than 7,000 a game.