Baseball Managers: (8 Baseball In America)

Why is baseball the only team sport whose managers wear a uniform? Which two managers have led three different teams to the World Series? Who was the last player-manager? Which managers' uniform numbers have been retired? What happened when Ted Turner took over as manager after Atlanta had posted 16 consecutive losses? These and many more questions are answered in Bob Bloss's Baseball Managers. The perfect book to have for settling a baseball argument, it contains records of each of the more than 400 twentieth-century managers. It traces managing evolution from the original Cincinnati Red Stockings to the Arizona Diamondbacks and from the early days of player-managers and their fourteen-man squads to today's relentless fan and media second-guessing and the emergence of free agency which now often forces managers to enter battle with teams vastly restructured from the previous season.With chapters on controversial managerial decisions Hall-of-Fame manager profiles and oddball managerial situations, humorous and sometimes poignant anecdotes, and many useful tables listing managers alphabetically, by teams, and by winning percentages, Baseball Managers is a fascinating compilation of statistics, trivia, and memories. Author note: Bob Bloss is a freelance baseball journalist who began his writing career in 1960. He has played the role of announcer as well as reporter and is a member of the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association and SABR, the Society of American Baseball Research. Once a slow, second-string high school outfielder in Erie, PA, who could hit a curve ball only when he knew it was coming and then not very far Bloss now chronicles baseball and baseball managing.

Table of Contents:
CONTENTS Acknowledgments Introduction: Mr. Mack and Mr. Mauch 1      Managing: Its Evolution 2      Pathfinders         Notable Managers Before 1900         The Federal League         Major League Managers, 1876-1900         Federal League Managers 3      All the Teams' Men         National League Teams and Managers:         Arizona Diamondbacks         Atlanta Braves         Chicago Cubs         Cincinnati Reds         Florida Marlins         Houston Astros         Los Angeles Dodgers         Milwaukee Brewers         Montreal Expos         New York Mets         Philadelphia Phillies         Pittsburgh Pirates         St. Louis Cardinals         San Diego Padres         San Francisco Giants         American League Teams and Mangers:         Anaheim Angels         Baltimore Orioles         Boston Red Sox         Chicago White Sox         Cleveland Indians         Detroit Tigers         Kansas City Royals         Minnesota Twins         New York Yankees         Oakland Athletics         Seattle Mariners         Tampa Bay Devil Rays         Texas Rangers         Toronto Blue Jays 4      Player-Managers: A Vanished Breed         The Player Managers, 1901-86 5      Managing by Committee! Trading Managers! Managers for a Day!         Wrigley's Experiment         Jimmie Dykes for Joe Gordon         Interim Managers 6      Family Matters         A Young Man's Game?         Retired Uniform Numbers         Baseball's Eldest Managers         Baseball's Youngest Managers         Retired Uniform Numbers of Big League Managers         Fathers and Sons         Nicknames         Where They Came From         Multiple Tours with the Same Team         Return Engagements 7      Race and Ethnicity 8      Controversial Managerial Decisions         Dressen, Branca -- and Bobby Thomson         Boudreau's Williams Shift         Fenway Park Again         Donie Bush Benches Kiki Cuyler         Two Philadelphia Pitchers         Fans Manage Zack's Browns         And Now, Playing Right Field...         The Luxury of the Second Guess 9      Hall of Famers         "Dean" Al Lopez         Other Managers' Routes to Cooperstown         Hall of Fame Members         Hall of Fame Players Who Also served as Managers 10   Measure of Greatness        Joe McCarthy's Winning Ways        McKechnie and Williams        Managers Ranked by Winning Percentage        Managing More Than One  Franchise to a League Championship 11   Pennants, Playoffs, and World Series        The Misters October        World Series Managers        Postseason Records        The Pennant Winners        Winners of Multiple Flags 12   Well-Deserved, Overdue Salutes        Best Record, but No Title        Division Winners, 1969-98        Some Overlooked Skippers        Overlooked Oldtimers, Short Timers...and Still Timers        An Honor and a Privilege Appendix   From Adair to Zimmer: The 421 Big League Managers, 1901-1998 Index

About the Author :
Bob Bloss is a freelance baseball journalist who began his writing career in 1960. He has played the role of announcer as well as reporter and is a member of the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association and SABR, the Society of American Baseball Research. Once a slow, second-string high school outfielder in Erie, PA, who could hit a curve ball only when he knew it was coming -- and then not very far -- Bloss now chronicles baseball and baseball managing.

Review :
"Criticizing managers has always been a popular pastime, especially for fans. In fact, baseball's dugout directors believe that no other profession is second-guessed to the extent theirs is. More than a century's worth of evidence supports their position. However, not any of them--from McGraw to Bucky Harris to the Deacon McKechnie to feisty Billy Martin and on to today's Dusty Baker, Tom Kelly, and Bobby Cox (or even to Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own)--would forego the opportunity to manage a baseball team." --From the Introduction