Replacing a managerial legend

From SABR member Chris Jaffe at The Hardball Times on November 21, 2011:

Mike Matheny? Uh, okay—Mike Matheny.

St. Louis recently named the former catcher as their new manager. This was a surprise announcement, as many assumed Jose Oquendo was the heir apparent. Perhaps more importantly, Matheny’s appointment was a surprise because he lacked the normal qualifications for a big league manager. He’d neither managed nor coached over a full season.

Matheny replaces a sure-fire Hall of Famer who is the third-winningest manager of all-time and who just capped his career with his third world title. He’ll have to begin his managerial career stuck in the long shadows of Tony La Russa.

That just brings up a question: What has happened in the past to the men who replaced long-lasting managers who were highly regarded fixtures of the dugout? How well did they do? Did they crumble in the shadows or thrive? None of this will necessarily tell us anything definitively about what the future holds for Matheny, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Let’s go through it, looking at Cooperstown-caliber managers. I’ll note the year the change occurred, the incoming and outgoing managers, and how long a manager’s tenure was. We’ll go from the longest lasting and work our way through.

Read the full article here: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/replacing-managerial-legends/



Originally published: November 22, 2011. Last Updated: November 22, 2011.