Fox Sports ranked the 10 best (current) Major League Baseball managers:
10. Terry Francona -- Boston Red Sox
9. Ozzie Guillen -- Chicago White Sox
8. Cito Gaston -- Toronto Blue Jays
7. Jim Leyland -- Detroit Tigers
6. Lou Piniella -- Chicago Cubs
5. Ron Gardenhire -- Minnesota Twins
4. Mike Scioscia -- Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
3. Joe Torre -- Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Bobby Cox -- Atlanta Braves
1. Tony La Russa -- St. Louis Cardinals
Probably a few surprises on the list like Cito Gaston -- who hasn't really done anything since the early '90s -- and I probably would have expected Jim Leyland to be a little higher and Gardenhire a little lower. But for the most part I feel pretty good about it.
The top 3 are interesting because they are each so polarizing. You're simply not a success if you don't have a lot of people who don't like you. And each of them certainly have their detractors. Say what you want, but La Russa could end his career with the second most managerial wins in baseball history and Cox isn't far behind. Torre led a New York Yankee dynasty that crippled the rest of the league for nearly six seasons.
Since this is a Cubs-Cardinals blog, I will expand on numbers six and one. If Piniella and Gardenhire had switched places I wouldn't have been surprised. His years in Tampa and his poor playoff showings the last two years may have hurt him a little. Obviously his best years came in Cincinnati when he won a World Championship in 1990, but his 2001 regular season in Seattle was the most amazing. Yet, after posting 116 wins, his Mariners were eliminated from the playoffs in the ALCS. Either way, he still sits among the top 15 managers in wins all time.
La Russa has won nearly 2,500 games as a manager with a decent playoff record. He has two World Championships, although he was swept twice with heavily favored teams (1990, 2004). Either way, he's acknowledged as a clear Hall of Famer and highly respected leaders from other sports continually praise his work and consider themselves Cardinal fans just for their relationship with the manager.
Anyway, if we have any readers, I'd love to hear some opinions...
2 comments:
Ok, we have at least 1 reader.
Ozzie Guillen at number 9? Seriously? There's no way he's top 10 material. I would agree with the rest of the picks and maybe flip flop a couple. I think Bobby has an argument for number 1. He does hold the all time record for ejections. But Guillen? He's barely top 10 in the AL.
Oh, and Rob, you posted a picture of La Russa without his sun glasses on? That's what gives him the edge over Bobby for number 1.
Post a Comment