Baseball managers
Baseball managers receive far disproportionate credit for their role on the team. I would liken as not akin to the captain of the ship, but as to a man in a dingy pulled behind the ship. He can call out orders from afar, but the subordinates are doing as they see fit to the best of their abilities. Teams do have captains, but they are players and not managers. In most cases it does not matter who is doing the beckoning from behind the field of play. It is rare to find a manager willing to interact directly with players and dictate all manner of actions they take, such as Buck Showalter. Instead the hand off approach combined with media savvy is the prevailing favorite, such as Joe Torre.
Before Joe Torre had come to the Yankees he managed five years for the Mets without a winning record, managed three years for the Braves with each season getting worse than the prior, and managed six years for the Cardinals with only one second place finish and three losing seasons. Perhaps his success for the Yankees was more to do with the team that was crafted and developed by Gene Michael, Buck Showalter, and Brian Cashman. However, Cashman earns one fifth the annual salary of Torre, Showalter was fired, and Michael stepped down in player development.
Jack McKeon recently received the manager of the year honors for the NL. He has never steered a team to finish in first place, ever. He has had six 2nd place finishes. If not for the wild card, he could never have managed a World Series champion. In two years for the Athletics he took the club from 7th to 6th despite managing at a lower winning percentage (.491 to .366). In three years with the Padres, he took the club from 3rd to 5th decreasing winning percentages in every season (.583 to .549 to .462). But his two years with the Marlins are celebrated as testament to his managing ability when the evidence suggests the performance of the team is not related to the manager.
Joe McCarthy is the winningest manager in MLB history, at a career .615 % - this is almost entirely due to his tenure with the Yankees. In five years prior with the Cubs and three years after with the Red Sox, despite the considerably smaller league size, he managed only one first place finish outside of NY. Connie Mack has the most managerial wins of all-time, but he has two seasons with 100 losses for every one with 100 wins (10 to 5) and has a losing career winning percentage (.486). He finished in 8th place 17 times to 5 World Series championships, but he is in the Hall of Fame. Miller Huggins is also a Hall of Fame manager for his work with the Yankees, but in the five years prior to NY with the St. Louis Browns he managed no better than third place and had only two winning seasons. In contrast, in 12 years with the Yankees he had only two losing seasons. Ralph Houk began his career with three World Series appearances for the Yankees only to never return finish in first place again. In a five year stint with the Tigers he had only one winning season and finished no better than fourth.
The best example is the legendary Casey Stengel. While with the Yankees he made ten World Series appearances and finished third and second once per in 12 years. In nine prior years with the Dodgers and five later years with the Mets he never placed better than fifth, amassing only one winning season and losing records in all the others.
Before Joe Torre had come to the Yankees he managed five years for the Mets without a winning record, managed three years for the Braves with each season getting worse than the prior, and managed six years for the Cardinals with only one second place finish and three losing seasons. Perhaps his success for the Yankees was more to do with the team that was crafted and developed by Gene Michael, Buck Showalter, and Brian Cashman. However, Cashman earns one fifth the annual salary of Torre, Showalter was fired, and Michael stepped down in player development.
Jack McKeon recently received the manager of the year honors for the NL. He has never steered a team to finish in first place, ever. He has had six 2nd place finishes. If not for the wild card, he could never have managed a World Series champion. In two years for the Athletics he took the club from 7th to 6th despite managing at a lower winning percentage (.491 to .366). In three years with the Padres, he took the club from 3rd to 5th decreasing winning percentages in every season (.583 to .549 to .462). But his two years with the Marlins are celebrated as testament to his managing ability when the evidence suggests the performance of the team is not related to the manager.
Joe McCarthy is the winningest manager in MLB history, at a career .615 % - this is almost entirely due to his tenure with the Yankees. In five years prior with the Cubs and three years after with the Red Sox, despite the considerably smaller league size, he managed only one first place finish outside of NY. Connie Mack has the most managerial wins of all-time, but he has two seasons with 100 losses for every one with 100 wins (10 to 5) and has a losing career winning percentage (.486). He finished in 8th place 17 times to 5 World Series championships, but he is in the Hall of Fame. Miller Huggins is also a Hall of Fame manager for his work with the Yankees, but in the five years prior to NY with the St. Louis Browns he managed no better than third place and had only two winning seasons. In contrast, in 12 years with the Yankees he had only two losing seasons. Ralph Houk began his career with three World Series appearances for the Yankees only to never return finish in first place again. In a five year stint with the Tigers he had only one winning season and finished no better than fourth.
The best example is the legendary Casey Stengel. While with the Yankees he made ten World Series appearances and finished third and second once per in 12 years. In nine prior years with the Dodgers and five later years with the Mets he never placed better than fifth, amassing only one winning season and losing records in all the others.
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