With what is happening in the MLB and the recent hiring of Walt Weiss as the Colorado Rockies manager, the trend seems to be continuing.
Last year, there were two "true" rookie managers that were hired, Robin Ventura and Mike Matheny. The two managers had outstanding rookie campaigns.
Robin Ventura led the White Sox to an 85-77 record, which placed the White Sox in second place in the Central Division.
Mike Matheny led the Cardinals led the Cardinals to an 88-74 record, which got the Cardinals into the 2012 playoffs. The Cardinals were one game away from reaching the World Series for the second straight year.
These two gentlemen did a fantastic job in their first season. So does this mean the rookie manager is in?
I don’t quite think so, but I believe GM’s in many sports will start looking closer at the unknown.
I believe that you can always tell when a player will make a good manager. You see how they lead on the field and how they control a locker room.
Managing and coaching are a lot different they playing.
Coaching not only consists of game management, but people management too. When you coach teams, you are everything from a father figure to a psychologist to your players. You have to know how to handle all breeds of people, from pre-Madonna’s to socially awkward people. (see Zack Greinke)
So this is to general managers looking for a new man to lead their squads. Please don’t just look at a fresh face and believe that they will get the job done.
It takes a special person to lead people, and the St. Louis Cardinals have their man in place.
Anthony Wiber is a columnist for StlSportsMinute.com and is a main contributor on the Cruddy Show (@CruddyShow), a St. Louis sports talk show that airs on Tuesdays and Fridays at 9:30 pm CT. You can follow Wiber on Twitter as well (@AWibes).
