October is the month when baseball managers are an endangered species.
Six of the 30 teams in the major leagues have fired managers since the end of the regular season: Florida’s Joe Girardi, Washington’s Frank Robinson, San Francisco’s Felipe Alou, Chicago’s Dusty Baker and Texas’ Buck Showalter and Oakland’s Ken Macha.
The last four men on that list -- Alou, Baker, Showalter and Macha -- have something in common besides their current job status.
We’ll finish our morning bagel while you hazard a guess or two what it is...
Ready?
The four men were all members of the "Class of 2003." Back in 2003, there were 10 teams that started the season with new managers. Four had been named manager of the year at previous stops. Five of them had never managed in the big leagues before. One of them had never managed at any level.
Of those 10 men who started spring training four years ago amid varying amounts of hype, hoopla and unbounded optimism, only two remain in the same jobs. That’s right. We’re down to two contestants in the major-league version of "Survivor."
Drum roll, please..
Milwaukee’s Ned Yost and Cleveland’s Eric Wedge.
They are the only two men left from the Class of 2003. The other eight were fired or left of their own accord. Here is the list:
Felipe Alou, Giants -- The 71-year-old icon was the only candidate interviewed to replace Dusty Baker, whose team lost to the Angels in Game 7 of the World Series. The Giants went in four seasons under Alou. The team won 100 games and a division title in ‘03, losing the division series to Florida. In 2004, the Giants were knocked out of post-season contention on the last day of the regular season. In 2005 and ’06, the club posted losing records.
Dusty Baker, Cubs -- The hottest name on the managerial market after the 2002 season, Baker was expected to bring the Cubs to a championship. The best chance to do so came and went in 2003, when the Cubs gagged away the National League Championship Series to Florida. The team didn’t return to the post-season after that. This year’s record -- 66-96 -- was the club’s worst since 2000. Baker’s record with the Cubs was 322-326.
Baker recently had a tryout with ESPN, but has said he wants to stay in baseball.
Art Howe, Mets -- The A’s allowed Howe to leave after the 2002 season and he did, taking a four-year, $9 million deal from the Mets. He team won 66 games his first season and 71 the second. Howe was replaced by Willie Randolph.
Ken Macha, Athletics -- After serving as Howe’s bench coach in Oakland, Macha interviewed for the Brewers job and was actually the first choice of general manager Doug Melvin. Macha, however, only wanted the Oakland job. He led the A’s to 90-plus victories in three of his four season; they won the division twice and finished second twice. His overall record was 368-280.
The team advanced to the ALCS this year, but was beaten by Detroit. Macha was fired because GM Billy Beane sensed a "disconnect" between the manager and players.
Bob Melvin, Mariners -- After serving as a coach under Phil Garner in Milwaukee and Detroit and Bob Brenly in Arizona, Melvin was hired as the 12th manager in Seattle history. As a rookie the team won 93 games, the 15th most by any rookie manager in major-league history, but failed to make the playoffs. The second season, Melvin’s club lost 99 games. He was fired and ended up back managing the Diamondbacks.
Lou Piniella, Devil Rays -- After things went sour in Seattle, Piniella took a job in his home town and tried to turn around one of the worst teams in the game. The Rays won 70 games in 2004, a franchise record, and avoided the cellar for the first time in history. Things went sour in ’05, though, as Piniella criticized management for focusing too much on the future and not trying to improve the roster for the present. The tension got so severe that Piniella stepped down on Sept. 21 with a year remaining on his contract.
On Oct. 16, Piniella signed a three-year, $10 million with a $5 million option for a fourth season.
Buck Showalter, Rangers -- After a last-place finish in 2002, the Rangers hired Showalter and finished 71-91. After trading Alex Rodriguez that winter, the club won 89 games in 2004, staying in playoff contention for most of the season. Showalter was named manager of the year, but his style quickly wore thin. The team won 79 games in 2005 and 80 games in 2006. Showalter was fired Oct. 4. That could be good news for the Rangers, though. Showalter was fired by the Yankees and Diamondbacks and both teams won the World Series the following year.
Alan Trammell, Tigers -- The Tigers hoped that hiring a franchise icon would help restore respectability. But the team started the season 0-9, 1-17 and 3-25. Things didn’t get much better. The club lost 119 games in ’03, then lost 90 and 91 games the next two seasons. Some of the young players who bumbled around under Trammell formed the core of a team that is poised to win the World Series this year.
That leaves Yost and Wedge as the last men standing; two former catchers with lackluster big-league careers behind them who had never managed in the majors before 2003.
Brewers fans know plenty about Yost. After guiding the team to a 81-81 finish in 2005 -- its first non-losing season since 1992 -- he was mentioned as a rising star in the industry. When the team took a step back during an injury-plagued 2006 season, he was mentioned as a candidate for the unemployment line.
Indians fans were high on Wedge when the team won 93 games and finished second in 2005, but the Tribe was 78-84 this year, putting Wedge back on the hot seat.
Both men will be on short leashes next year. Given their classmates in 2003, it's rather remarkable that they made it this far.
Six of the 30 teams in the major leagues have fired managers since the end of the regular season: Florida’s Joe Girardi, Washington’s Frank Robinson, San Francisco’s Felipe Alou, Chicago’s Dusty Baker and Texas’ Buck Showalter and Oakland’s Ken Macha.
The last four men on that list -- Alou, Baker, Showalter and Macha -- have something in common besides their current job status.
We’ll finish our morning bagel while you hazard a guess or two what it is...
Ready?
The four men were all members of the "Class of 2003." Back in 2003, there were 10 teams that started the season with new managers. Four had been named manager of the year at previous stops. Five of them had never managed in the big leagues before. One of them had never managed at any level.
Of those 10 men who started spring training four years ago amid varying amounts of hype, hoopla and unbounded optimism, only two remain in the same jobs. That’s right. We’re down to two contestants in the major-league version of "Survivor."
Drum roll, please..
Milwaukee’s Ned Yost and Cleveland’s Eric Wedge.
They are the only two men left from the Class of 2003. The other eight were fired or left of their own accord. Here is the list:
Felipe Alou, Giants -- The 71-year-old icon was the only candidate interviewed to replace Dusty Baker, whose team lost to the Angels in Game 7 of the World Series. The Giants went in four seasons under Alou. The team won 100 games and a division title in ‘03, losing the division series to Florida. In 2004, the Giants were knocked out of post-season contention on the last day of the regular season. In 2005 and ’06, the club posted losing records.
Dusty Baker, Cubs -- The hottest name on the managerial market after the 2002 season, Baker was expected to bring the Cubs to a championship. The best chance to do so came and went in 2003, when the Cubs gagged away the National League Championship Series to Florida. The team didn’t return to the post-season after that. This year’s record -- 66-96 -- was the club’s worst since 2000. Baker’s record with the Cubs was 322-326.
Baker recently had a tryout with ESPN, but has said he wants to stay in baseball.
Art Howe, Mets -- The A’s allowed Howe to leave after the 2002 season and he did, taking a four-year, $9 million deal from the Mets. He team won 66 games his first season and 71 the second. Howe was replaced by Willie Randolph.
Ken Macha, Athletics -- After serving as Howe’s bench coach in Oakland, Macha interviewed for the Brewers job and was actually the first choice of general manager Doug Melvin. Macha, however, only wanted the Oakland job. He led the A’s to 90-plus victories in three of his four season; they won the division twice and finished second twice. His overall record was 368-280.
The team advanced to the ALCS this year, but was beaten by Detroit. Macha was fired because GM Billy Beane sensed a "disconnect" between the manager and players.
Bob Melvin, Mariners -- After serving as a coach under Phil Garner in Milwaukee and Detroit and Bob Brenly in Arizona, Melvin was hired as the 12th manager in Seattle history. As a rookie the team won 93 games, the 15th most by any rookie manager in major-league history, but failed to make the playoffs. The second season, Melvin’s club lost 99 games. He was fired and ended up back managing the Diamondbacks.
Lou Piniella, Devil Rays -- After things went sour in Seattle, Piniella took a job in his home town and tried to turn around one of the worst teams in the game. The Rays won 70 games in 2004, a franchise record, and avoided the cellar for the first time in history. Things went sour in ’05, though, as Piniella criticized management for focusing too much on the future and not trying to improve the roster for the present. The tension got so severe that Piniella stepped down on Sept. 21 with a year remaining on his contract.
On Oct. 16, Piniella signed a three-year, $10 million with a $5 million option for a fourth season.
Buck Showalter, Rangers -- After a last-place finish in 2002, the Rangers hired Showalter and finished 71-91. After trading Alex Rodriguez that winter, the club won 89 games in 2004, staying in playoff contention for most of the season. Showalter was named manager of the year, but his style quickly wore thin. The team won 79 games in 2005 and 80 games in 2006. Showalter was fired Oct. 4. That could be good news for the Rangers, though. Showalter was fired by the Yankees and Diamondbacks and both teams won the World Series the following year.
Alan Trammell, Tigers -- The Tigers hoped that hiring a franchise icon would help restore respectability. But the team started the season 0-9, 1-17 and 3-25. Things didn’t get much better. The club lost 119 games in ’03, then lost 90 and 91 games the next two seasons. Some of the young players who bumbled around under Trammell formed the core of a team that is poised to win the World Series this year.
That leaves Yost and Wedge as the last men standing; two former catchers with lackluster big-league careers behind them who had never managed in the majors before 2003.
Brewers fans know plenty about Yost. After guiding the team to a 81-81 finish in 2005 -- its first non-losing season since 1992 -- he was mentioned as a rising star in the industry. When the team took a step back during an injury-plagued 2006 season, he was mentioned as a candidate for the unemployment line.
Indians fans were high on Wedge when the team won 93 games and finished second in 2005, but the Tribe was 78-84 this year, putting Wedge back on the hot seat.
Both men will be on short leashes next year. Given their classmates in 2003, it's rather remarkable that they made it this far.
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
