Player-Manager

Remember the days when baseball had player-managers, yeah, neither do I except for in 1984 when Pete Rose did it for the Cincinnati Reds and then 1975 when Frank Robinson did it for the Cleveland Indians. You have to go all the way back to the early start of 20th century when a majority of teams used this system, although in 2011 GM Kenny Williams of the White Sox thought about using Paul Konerko in this role after letting go Ozzie Guillen.

I have a feeling that this trend is coming back but not exactly how you think it is. Take a look at some of the recently hired managers in baseball and what they have done for their teams.

Mike Matheny- This first time manager of the St. Louis Cardinals did not have a hard time adjusting to his surroundings. Being an ex-player for the team in the early 2000's Matheny was very comfortable coming into the clubhouse, even though the team lost their stud first baseman Albert Pujols. Matheny took the Cardinals to the playoffs winning the wild card round, beat the Washington Nationals in the NLDS and then losing in seven games to the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants. It looks like the Cardinals have a very positive upside to their future.

Robin Ventura- Everyone knows one thing about Robin Ventura, he is the guy that tried to take Nolan Ryan's head off after being hit by a pitch. What you may not know is that he had the Chicago White Sox in the playoff race all the way down to the wire. Even though his team plays in the beleaguered American League Central he still guided them to victory over the teams they should have beat. Just like Matheny, Ventura had a history with his team having played the majority of his career there. Also like Matheny, Ventura has a bright future of guiding his White Sox teams to many postseasons.

Don Mattingly- Coming into the 2012 season everyone had written the Los Angeles Dodgers off due to the ownership mess they were in, everyone but Don Mattingly. Mattingly was always known for his consistent play on the field and he brought that to the Dodgers when he took over in 2011. He kept the team and the city of Los Angeles in it all season long with the Dodgers finishing two games out of the wild card race at the end of the season. With a new ownership group, a rebuilt lineup, and Mattingly at the helm look for the Dodgers to contend.

John Farrell- Even though Farrell is now the manager of the Boston Red Sox we need to look at what he did with the Toronto Blue Jays for the last two seasons. The American League East is the toughest division in baseball to win and John Farrell kept the Blue Jays competitive to say the least. He kept the energy up in the locker room which is probably one of the main reasons the Red Sox sought his services for the upcoming 2013 season. His managerial style with this team will be something watch throughout the season.

Mike Socosica- This no nonsense manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim has been with the team since 2000 and guiding them the playoffs six times with a World Series win in 2002 and only having a losing record twice during that time. There has been speculation that change could be made but that was squashed when Socosica signed an extension through 2018. The Angels have the talent and I could see Socosica turning in Tony LaRussa.

Joe Girardi- Who knew that Girardi won the National League Manager of the Year in 2006 after being fired by the Florida Marlins towards the end of the season. This tells you the success he had prior to becoming the New York Yankees manager where all he did was not make the playoffs in his first season but then win the World Series in his second season. Being the Yankess manager is not as tough anymore since the passing of George Steinbrenner but the fans still expect you to win and that is what he doing.

Ron Washington- Two words for you - World Series (twice)! The Texas Rangers manager has turned this team into a contender every year and will continue to do so as he leads by example. He continues to push his team to the limit and the continue to respond, however, the 2013 season will be telling due to the fact that their best player, Josh Hamilton, is a free agent so look out!

Terry Francona- As a lifelong Cleveland Indians fan I am excited over this hire, although I am not going to lie, I would have been just as excited if Sandy Alomar Jr. were hired. Francona's resume speaks for itself by taking the Boston Red Sox to the World Series and winning it twice in three year since prior to that it had been 84 years since their last win. In 2011 the Red Sox parted ways and brought in Bobby Valentine which only made Francona shine brighter, hopefully he will be able to do to the Indians what he did for the Red Sox.

Kirk Gibson- The always entertaining manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, nothing special about this guy or this team other than the fact they always keep it interesting. Gibson played with reckless abandon and he manages with the same style.

Bud Black- He manges the San Diego Padres, how many of you knew that? How many of you knew that San Diego still had a baseball team? It is my opinion that the Padres have the easiest manager's position because nobody watches them because of their location! Beautiful ballpark but the beaches are so much better.

So in review you see that all of these ex-players have had a level of success during their career and even though I realize there are a few more ex-players that are managing today I wanted to highlight these once since they are more recent. Let's hope the newly hired Mike Redmond of the Miami Marlins and Walt Weiss of the Colorado Rockies have similar success rates, who by the way both are celebrating their 20th season in the Major Leagues; not the managers the teams.