The Manager Code?

RMF · 01-25-2007, 07:54 PM

By no means am I a baseball historian. However, Basketball, Football, Hockey all have coaches who have put up great W/L records and championships all without playing professionally. These leagues all currently have these Coaches with 0 professional experience as a player. Does baseball currently have a manager that wasn't a professional player MLB or ML?

Why not? Is the job so difficult that only an ex player can handle it? Is the psychology so tough? Frankly I think its ridiculous that managers wear uniforms. Most of those old guys look really silly. Nor am I advocating that baseball give up its tradition.

There are some great minds out there who couldn't swing the stick. We are stuck with Clint Hurdle. A man without a great mind, who also couldn't swing the stick.

RMF · 01-25-2007, 07:58 PM

Did Earl ever play professionally?

Heltonfan · 01-25-2007, 08:19 PM

Quote:

However, Basketball, Football, Hockey all have coaches who have put up great W/L records and championships all without playing professionally.

That's not a fair comparison, because baseball's elaborate minor league system makes "professional experience" much easier to get than it is in the other sports. NBA and NFL teams (NHL to a lesser extent) have to look beyond the pool of former professional players in order to find coaches because that pool is so small. Not so in MLB, where the pool of ex-players is so large that, assuming playing experience is an advantage for a manager (and I think that's a fair assumption), there's really not much reason to look outside the ex-player pool at all.

And yes, Earl Weaver had an undistinguished minor league career.

wolf213 · 01-25-2007, 08:41 PM

I believe the Rockies had a guy who had not Big League experience, he's the same guy that took the Tigers to the World Series and won the world series with the Marlins.

Jim Leyland

BigRapidsJackass · 01-25-2007, 08:53 PM

HF, you're right. College basketball and football is the equivalent of minor league baseball.

Hockey is a bit different given its long history of minor leagues.

So if you ask the question, "which NBA/NFL coaches lack playing experience at the college level," you'll find it very, very hard to find an answer.

The only guy I can think of off the top of my head: that Lawrence Frank (was that his name?) guy who took over the Knicks a couple years ago, and had a nice 2-month run. The story on him was that he hadn't played competitive basketball after junior high.

RMF · 01-26-2007, 03:27 PM

Dick Vitale, Mike Fratello come to mind.

TheIncredibleRox · 01-26-2007, 05:09 PM

I spilled coffee on Dick Vitale.

It was around 7 AM in Sarasota, FL (Dick lives there, I grew up there) and I was stopping at a 7-11 on Siesta Key on my way to go fishing. Pour my coffee, turn around, and bump into someone. Dicky V. Coffee gets his khakis pretty good.

"THATS AWESOME BABBBYY!"

He didn't find it as amusing.

indianadrew · 01-26-2007, 05:36 PM

TIR

thats beautiful man

01-25-2007, 07:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
RMF Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 201	The Manager Code? By no means am I a baseball historian. However, Basketball, Football, Hockey all have coaches who have put up great W/L records and championships all without playing professionally. These leagues all currently have these Coaches with 0 professional experience as a player. Does baseball currently have a manager that wasn't a professional player MLB or ML? Why not? Is the job so difficult that only an ex player can handle it? Is the psychology so tough? Frankly I think its ridiculous that managers wear uniforms. Most of those old guys look really silly. Nor am I advocating that baseball give up its tradition. There are some great minds out there who couldn't swing the stick. We are stuck with Clint Hurdle. A man without a great mind, who also couldn't swing the stick.

01-25-2007, 07:58 PM	#2 (permalink)
RMF Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 201	Earl Weaver Did Earl ever play professionally?

01-25-2007, 08:41 PM	#4 (permalink)
wolf213 Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Thornton Co Posts: 190	I believe the Rockies had a guy who had not Big League experience, he's the same guy that took the Tigers to the World Series and won the world series with the Marlins. Jim Leyland

01-25-2007, 08:53 PM	#5 (permalink)
BigRapidsJackass Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,123	HF, you're right. College basketball and football is the equivalent of minor league baseball. Hockey is a bit different given its long history of minor leagues. So if you ask the question, "which NBA/NFL coaches lack playing experience at the college level," you'll find it very, very hard to find an answer. The only guy I can think of off the top of my head: that Lawrence Frank (was that his name?) guy who took over the Knicks a couple years ago, and had a nice 2-month run. The story on him was that he hadn't played competitive basketball after junior high.

01-26-2007, 03:27 PM	#6 (permalink)
RMF Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 201	Dick Vitale, Mike Fratello come to mind.

01-26-2007, 05:09 PM	#7 (permalink)
TheIncredibleRox Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 275	I spilled coffee on Dick Vitale. It was around 7 AM in Sarasota, FL (Dick lives there, I grew up there) and I was stopping at a 7-11 on Siesta Key on my way to go fishing. Pour my coffee, turn around, and bump into someone. Dicky V. Coffee gets his khakis pretty good. "THATS AWESOME BABBBYY!" He didn't find it as amusing.

01-26-2007, 05:36 PM	#8 (permalink)
indianadrew Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: indianapolis Posts: 538	TIR thats beautiful man