Player-manager role for Albert Pujols? – MLB News
As the St. Louis Cardinals intensify their search for a new manager following the retirement of Tony La Russa, a new idea was floated on Friday whereby it is asked if Albert Pujols could serve as both a player and a manager.
The Cardinals which have so far interviewed six strong candidates for the managerial post might not have considered this idea. However, not only is it viable but it may also be a harbinger of more success for the team.
Nonetheless, its viability can also be challenged on several counts given the complexity of baseball in this era. There, however, have so far been 221 such players in the history of baseball who have served as both players and manager.
Although the predominant majority of them came before the last century, there have been only few players – six, to be exact, who have done it in last 50 years. Nonetheless, the rapidly challenging environment for a player might not enable him to serve as
a manager as well.
Ken Williams, the general manager of the White Sox, on the other hand, believes it is pretty much possible.
"You're not hiring somebody to run Apple," Williams said. "It's baseball. It's a leadership position, No. 1. The difficult part is the scrutiny; it's so much more than it used to be. But if it's any issue, it's not that a player can't [do both].”
The first baseman Albert Pujols, now a free agent, was considered to be one of the most valuable assets the St. Louis Cardinals have. Now that he is engaged in talks with the Florida Marlins for the fate of his new contract, the idea to lead the Cardinals
as player-manager might not have crossed his mind.
Don Kessinger, who remained a player-manager himself, only to tender his resignation within a few months disagrees with the idea. "I don't know why you would ever want to do it now," Kessinger said. "I think there are a lot of great managers, and potentially
great managers, out there. There's no need for it."
With the new ideas that stem, it is yet to be seen what the Cardinals decide. Now that they have interviewed six candidates for the slot already, it is likely they will end up picking one of them.
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