SEATTLE (AP) – After four seasons without bringing the World Series to Seattle, Pat Gillick felt it was time to leave his job as general manager of the Mariners.

It was as simple as that.

“I had four kicks at it and I didn’t get the job done,” Gillick said Tuesday. “Let’s give somebody else a shot. Maybe they can bring a new angle or perspective and get it over the hump.”

The 66-year-old Gillick, who was GM in Toronto when the Blue Jays won the World Series in 1992 and “93, will remain on the job until a successor is found.

He then will become a Mariners consultant.

Team president Chuck Armstrong hopes to have a new general manager in place by Nov. 1. Under the rules of major league baseball, no team can make major announcements during the postseason.

“That fits in fine with us,” Armstrong said.

He identified two “excellent” internal candidates in Lee Pelekoudas, assistant general manager, and Benny Looper, vice president for player development, but said the search will involve as many qualified outside candidates as possible.

“Within a week to 10 days, I’ll be calling everyone I know in baseball and assembling names,” Armstrong said. “The next week or so, we’ll be vetting those names and narrowing them down to finalists.”

Unlike last year’s search to hire field manager Bob Melvin, the Mariners plan to keep their list of candidates private.

“We don’t know, as we assemble names, who wants their name out there,” Armstrong said. “We’ll be doing this quietly, we hope.”

During Gillick’s four years as general manager, the Mariners won 393 games – more than any other team in the majors. Seattle twice reached the AL championship series and in 2001 tied an AL record with 116 wins.

“I was proud of the guys,” Gillick said.

This season ended on a sour note, however, because the Mariners led the AL West for much of the summer but finished 93-69. Seattle was three games behind Oakland and missed the playoffs.

Gillick said that outcome didn’t factor into his decision, nor was health a consideration. He doesn’t consider his move a retirement, and wouldn’t rule out a return later.

“Who knows?” Gillick said.

Mariners chief executive Howard Lincoln was surprised by Gillick’s decision but expressed support. Gillick’s success raised expectations, Lincoln said, but he believes the team still can contend for championships.

“By that, I mean getting into the playoffs starting next October,” Lincoln said. “I think we need to focus on a person who is capable of continuing what Pat has done for the organization.”

Gillick said his successor will need to be creative and imaginative to handle the roster and payroll, a requisite for any big league GM these days. He thinks the Mariners remain a solid organization at every level.

“Other than the free agents we have, the responsibility is to take advantage of what else we have,” Gillick said. “We do have five excellent starters in place. A lot of clubs can’t say that.”

Gillick started his front-office career in 1963 with the Houston Astros, spending 10 years there. He joined the New York Yankees in 1974 as coordinator of player development.

In 1976, he joined the expansion Toronto Blue Jays, handling all baseball-related activities. In 1996, he went to Baltimore, where the Orioles reached the playoffs in his first two years and won the AL East in 1997.

AP-ES-09-30-03 2152EDT