All Time Top 3 Managers in Major League Baseball History - MLB Feature
The manager has one of the most important roles in baseball. A good manager with sound knowledge of the game can be instrumental in achieving success at the professional level. Generally called the head coach, the term manager is used at highest level only.
A manager can have up to six coaches in the staff.
Managing a team in the Major League Baseball is both demanding and a well paying job. The Manager has a very serious effect on how the team plays and can be more then useful in turning a team’s fortunes around.
Getting to manage an MLB team is not an easy task. Many of the coaches currently in MLB have been managers but were unable to sustain the spot. Yet there have been some who have performed exceedingly well and have achieved unbelievable success. We shall
look into the three most successful managers in the Major League of all time.
Connie Mack: Mack was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1937. As a manager, it would perhaps be impossible for anyone to surpass him.
He started his playing career as a catcher in 1886 with the Washington Nationals of that time. He represented three different ball clubs during his 11 year career. He had a reputation of being a smart player. Connie was one of the earlier catchers to move
up to home plate.
Mack was always into the ears of the batter and although he did not swear, his banter was more effective. He also developed skills such as blocking the plate and faking the sound of a foul tip. Connie’s playing career ended in 1896, he did manage the Pittsburgh
Pirates from 1894 to 1896 during his playing days. His stint with the Pirates, both as a player and a manager ended in 1896.
In 1901, he joined the Philadelphia Athletics as the manager. It was a partnership that continued for 50 years. He was also part owner from 1901 to 1936 and a full owner from 1936-1954. During this period, he made several MLB records.
These include managing 7755 games, winning 3731 games and losing 3948 games. He won five World Series Championships, including winning it twice in consecutive years. Mack made it to eight World Series Championships and also won nine pennants.
Connie passed away in 1956 at the age of 93. He was not just the longest serving manager in baseball but also in other professional sports in the United States.
John McGraw: John had a 16 year long Major League career. He was a seasoned hitter who achieved many marvels are a batter during his playing days. His latter playing days though were not as fruitful and he only played a handful of games
in the last four seasons of his career when he had assumed the role of manager for the New York Giants.
His career as a manager started in 1899 and continued until 1932. He had an impressive 2763-1948 winning record, the number of victories only second to Connie Mack. He won the National League pennant as a manager seven times. He also won three World Series
Championships as a manager for the Giants. McGraw was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937, three years after he died at the age of 60.
Tony La Russa: Tony did not have a great playing career. He struggled for the most part and played a lot of the time in the Minor Leagues. He later found that his true calling was indeed in managing teams.
His managerial career started with the White Sox, starting in 1978 with a Double-A affiliate. He was given the job for the Chicago White Sox in the later part of 1979 season. The club managed a .500 record in the remainder of the season. His association
with the White Sox came to an end when he was fired in 1986.
Soon he was hired by the Oakland Athletics as manager. He led the club to three consecutive World Series, winning once and losing unexpectedly on the other two. His performance remained consistent apart from rare poor shows in 1995 when he left the team
to take over the reins in St. Louis Cardinals.
With the Cardinals, his association continued until 2011. During this period, Tony led the club to two World Series Championships. He was the most successful manager in the history of the franchise, winning over 1400 games.
As a manager, he had a 2728-2365 winning record with a .536 percentage. Along with his three World Series wins, he also was the Manager of the Year four times
and the Cardinals in his honour, retired the No.10. Tony is now retired from baseball and soon will be eligible for a vote in the Hall of Fame.
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