Best of the Bosses - SI 1988 Article

[redsmetz]

I picked up about eight Sport Illustrated magazines at St. Vincent dePaul today to sell on eBay and I came across an article in one 1988 issue by Peter Gammons titled Best of the Bosses.

The article rated managers of that day under several categories


People Management
Teaching & Preparing
Judging Talent
Dealing With the Media
Handling Pitchers


It was interesting to see the names of the managers then, some still managing today with some success (LaRussa, Leyland). Interestingly under the Teaching & Preparing it listed, in this order, Jim Leyland and Tony LaRussa.

Listed among those best able to judge talent at #5 was Don Zimmer (then in his 1st year with the Cubs). I've sometimes wondered why the Reds didn't work to bring him into their organization since he's originally from here.

[redsmetz]

I'm sorry, it finished with The Perennials

Whitey Herzog
Sparky Anderson
Tom Lasorda
Roger Craig
Buck Rodgers

[REDREAD]

That is interesting that LaRussa and Leyland withstood the test of time.

I thought Leyland was finished after being with the Rockies. What a comeback he's made.

[redsmetz]

I went through and picked some excerpts to share with folks.


A manager must be capable of juding talent and have the backbone to stand by his judgment when the front office has different views. He has to assemble the right mix of personnel and have his team physically and mentally ready to play every day. JUggling a pitching staff is an art, and handling the press - especially in competitive media markets - can be treacherous.

Under Judging Talent:


...Front offices usually hire managers with the hope that they will stick for at least five years and become an integral part of the organization by identifying and developing prospects.


Making the most out of what the front office has provided is essential.

Preperation:


Leyland also believes that stressing fundamentals in a well-organized camp pays off during the season. Responses to game situations - holding runners on first, prichers fielding their position, hitting the cutoff man - become automatic when they've been the subject of repeated drilling. Because players generally spend less time in the minors than they used to, teaching has become more important on the major league level. Some managers, like Chuck Tanner of the Atlanta Braves, seem to have coaches simply because the game requires their prescence - at least in the third and first base coaching boxes - but the trend is toward using staffs to teach, just as NFL head coaches emply their assitants as specialized instructors

Handling Pitchers:


Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds responds to those who acuse him of overworking his bullpen by saying, "In one stretch when Rob Murphy pitched in 10 games, he threw only 10 innings." But most pitching coaches would point out that Rose doesn't understand the strain of warming up. A pitcher can be worn out as much by the pitches he throw in the bullpen as by the pitches he throws in games.

Handling the Media:


During the final week of last season, with their teams locked in a seesaw battle for the American League East title, Anderson and (Dick) Williams presented two quite different faces to the world. Anderson was, as always, accesible, loose and seemingly unfaxed by the pressure and his Tigers played that way. Williams became short-tempered, uptight and prickly, and his Blue Jays slipped into a funk on the field. Detroit finished two games ahead of Toronto.

Conclusion:


In the end, managing a baseball team is no different from managinga business or a government. It requires knowledge, diplomacy, toughness, decisiveness and sensitivity. "We ought to have all our prospective mangers start by reading the business book [I]One Minute Manager[I], says Pittsburgh general manager Syd Thrift. "When you get done with it, you realize why the Herzogs and Andersons are so successful.

[redsmetz]

...Front offices usually hire managers with the hope that they will stick for at least five years and become an integral part of the organization by identifying and developing prospects.

This jumped out at me. I think its long overdue that we get a consistancy in our field management and front office management.

[redsmetz]

This jumped out at me. I think its long overdue that we get a consistancy in our field management and front office management.

I had to run and couldn't finish my whole thought. Since Sparky left after 1978, the Reds have only once had a manager who has been here more than three whole seasons (Pete Rose). I disagree with those who say Jerry Narron's an idiot. I think he and Wayne Krivsky have done a remarkable job with the little this team has.

I like what I think is Krivsky's long term plan with our minor league system, moving players up one step at a time, not jumping levels (and for that reason, I don't think we'll see Homer here this year). I think he has done an unbelievable job of undoing the problems left him by Dan O'Brien and the previous regime.

I think we have in Jerry Narron the makings of a very good manager on par with the coveted Lou Pinella for example. People forget this club was picked to do absolutely nothing and even if it fades now, it's a different day than we've seen in Cincinnati in years (probably since Rose was manager - and he was an also ran the majority of his time managing the club - (4 2nd place finishes).

I think given a full offseason, revamping the club AND the system, clarifying the pitching coach position, we'll continue to see good things in the years to come. But the stability at the top is critical in my opinion.