Great article by Magpie ... now, which current backstop will make the best MLB manager?
| Sandy Alomar Jr. |  16 (9.41%) |
| Brad Ausmus | 35 (20.59%) |
| Ivan Rodriguez | 26 (15.29%) |
| Jason Varitek | 39 (22.94%) |
| Gregg Zaun | 47 (27.65%) |
| Other (please specify) | 7 (4.12%) |
170 votes | 4 featured comments
Of course, just because catchers seem to have the best chance of becoming managers doesn't mean that they make the best ones.
It's true that the winningest manager of them all, Connie Mack, was a catcher. He also owned the team. But the greatest manager who ever lived - Joe McCarthy - was a minor league second baseman who never played a game in the majors, and the other managers with the most wins were also mostly former infielders - McGraw, Anderson, Harris, Durocher, Mauch, McKechnie, Cox, LaRussa. We also have Walter Alston, who was a first baseman, and Casey Stengel, who was an outfielder. The most successful catchers are Joe Torre (13th) and Ralph Houk (14th).
I should have put that in the story, shouldn't I?
It's true that the winningest manager of them all, Connie Mack, was a catcher. He also owned the team. But the greatest manager who ever lived - Joe McCarthy - was a minor league second baseman who never played a game in the majors, and the other managers with the most wins were also mostly former infielders - McGraw, Anderson, Harris, Durocher, Mauch, McKechnie, Cox, LaRussa. We also have Walter Alston, who was a first baseman, and Casey Stengel, who was an outfielder. The most successful catchers are Joe Torre (13th) and Ralph Houk (14th).
I should have put that in the story, shouldn't I?
Mike Matheny doesn't seem to be getting much support and I think he would be a great manager. I think that Ausmus will probably have to most managerial success if he decides to go that way however.
(Former Tiger catcher Matt Walbeck has had considerable success in his three seasons as a minor league manager in the Tiger system as well.)
I don't think Posada has what it takes to be a manager. I look at the Randy Johnson and how Posada was incapable of calling good games with him. I think it's very important to be able to work with the game's best pitchers (RJ was last year...sort of) and call a good game to be a manager.