There have been eight supervisor modifications in baseball this offseason and nearly all of them have the earmarks of analytics everywhere in the hiring processes.
We’ve seen it coming — the gradual emasculation of managers by the analytic-driven GMs — and with nearly the entire seven supervisor hirings to date (solely Colorado remains to be searching for a brand new skipper after lastly hiring Paul DePodesta as their new GM final week), the one attribute that appears to be lacking was credibility.
It’s nearly as if the GMs have been saying: “Manager wanted. No major league experience needed.”
Of the seven employed to date, solely Walt Weiss with the Braves, Skip Schumaker with Texas and Derek Shelton with Minnesota have ever managed within the massive leagues. And of these three solely Schumaker, who was 2023 Nationwide League Supervisor of the 12 months with the Marlins, managed with any diploma of success. In his one earlier managerial cease, Weiss had 4 shedding seasons in Colorado. Shelton, who by no means performed within the majors, had six straight shedding seasons in Pittsburgh with an total .410 profitable proportion.
The Braves’ hiring of Weiss, nonetheless, was considerably comprehensible in that he’d been Braves supervisor Brian Snitker’s right-hand man as bench coach since 2018 and thought of an integral a part of the group by GM Alex Anthopoulos. Shelton’s hiring by the Twins, then again, was an actual head-scratcher (to not point out an actual downer for Minnesota followers) in that there’s nothing in his resume aside from a familiarity with the Twins group from when he was a coach for earlier supervisor Rocco Baldelli in 2019 to counsel he’s able to resurrecting the rebuilding Twins any time quickly, if ever. In truth I’ve to consider he was most likely so shocked Twins GM Derek Falvey employed him over any variety of different extra confirmed candidates he stated how excited he was for the analytics division taking the lineup chores out of his fingers.
The one frequent denominator in nearly all these new supervisor hirings is that as we speak’s analytically-driven GMs should not a lot curious about a candidate’s recreation technique or management skills however quite a dedication to the group’s formulation and participant analysis processes and to supply no push again. We thought Giants boss Buster Posey was a throwback to the old-school baseball methods when he cleared out a whole lot of the analytic geeks underneath his failed predecessor Farhan Zaidi, however then he shocked baseball by hiring a school coach, Tennessee’s Tony Vitello, who by no means performed, coached or managed a day {of professional} baseball.
They are saying Vitello’s largest power at Tennessee was that he was an incredible recruiter, however the final time I seemed that’s not one of many job necessities for a serious league supervisor. The educational curve for a first-year supervisor — particularly going from the faculty ranks to the most important leagues — is big, beginning with the truth that Vitello goes from teaching perhaps 60 video games a yr to just about 200, counting spring coaching and postseason. And as one former supervisor informed me: “He better have someone to run spring training for him and he better be adept at running a ballgame because his college credibility will wear off quickly with major leaguers.”
Laborious to consider Posey would take such a danger however perhaps that’s why he additionally simply employed his previous supervisor, Bruce Bochy, as a senior advisor. In the meantime, the opposite new hires — 43-year-old Craig Albernaz in Baltimore, 33-year-old Blake Butera in Washington, Craig Stammen in San Diego, and, to a lesser extent, Kirk Suzuki with the Angels — should even be considered with a complete lot of skepticism till confirmed in any other case.
Albernaz: A profession minor leaguer who hit .199 in 9 years largely within the Rays system, his lone managing expertise was two seasons in A ball with the Rays. His solely main league expertise is 2 years on the Guardians teaching workers, however he’s now the third straight supervisor after Brandon Hyde and Tony Mansolino, who by no means performed or managed within the massive leagues, employed by Orioles’ analytically ingrained GM Mike Elias. If ever a staff wanted a veteran confirmed supervisor it was the Orioles whose younger core regressed badly final yr, however that’s not what Elias desires.
Butera: One other graduate of the Rays system, who received 4 pennants in 4 years managing in A ball, he’ll be the youngest main league supervisor since Frank Quilici of the Twins in 1972. In his case, his lack of main league credibility received’t be a problem as a result of the Nationals are going to be NL East doormats for some time and no person will discover whether or not he’s making a distinction or not.
Stammen: This one was actual shocker. After interviewing Rangers particular assistant Nick Hundley and future Corridor of Famer Albert Pujols (reportedy for 9 ½ hours), Padres GM A.J. Preller did a sudden about face and employed Stammen, considered one of his entrance workplace assistants who’d truly been part of the supervisor interviewing course of, to a three-year contract — even if Stammen has by no means managed anyplace and solely retired three years in the past after a 13-year profession as a aid pitcher. In different phrases, zero managing credentials. However like Albernaz, Butera, Vitello and Shelton, Stammen could be counted on as an excellent soldier by Preller.
You would say of all the brand new managers, Suzuki — who spent 16 years as a catcher within the majors and the final three as particular assistant to Angels supervisor Perry Minasian — has as a lot credibility as any of them despite the fact that he’s by no means managed, however it most likely received’t matter since quixotic Angels proprietor Arte Moreno gave him solely a one-year contract.
Time will inform if any of those unconventional supervisor hirings work out, however the sample has clearly been established. As one admittedly hardened old-school baseball individual stated to me: “We’re not hiring managers any more. We’re hiring Stepford wives.”
IT’S A MADD, MADD WORLD
After a most satisfying season wherein he lastly received to World Collection, Don Mattingly walked away from his teaching place with the Blue Jays final week however insisted he was not retiring from baseball. As a lot as his multitude of followers would like to see him have a reunion with the Yankees, that’s not going to occur. What is probably going, nonetheless, is Mattingly hooking up together with his previous Yankee ally Rob Thomson as bench coach with the Phillies, the place his son, Preston, is the final supervisor. After which there’s the Corridor of Fame the place final week Mattingly was introduced as one of many eight candidates for the Modern Period poll that might be introduced Dec. 7 on the winter conferences in Orlando. It’s a tricky poll wherein you could possibly make a Corridor of Fame case for any of the eight former gamers, however after attaining a excessive of solely 28.2% in 15 years on the Baseball Writers Affiliation poll, Mattingly received eight votes (of a wanted 12) on the final Modern Period poll in 2022, and after all of the visibility and renewed accolades he received throughout the World Collection, I believe he’ll do even higher this time.
