EVALUATING BASEBALL’S MANAGERS doc

[...]... skill Instead, it generally shows managers playing a role in pythagenpat deviation I am not as firm a believer that managers have an impact on pythagenpat deviation as I am that they affect how their hitters and pitchers play, but the results above are striking enough for me to give managers the benefit of the doubt that they play a role in this 12 EVALUATING BASEBALL’S MANAGERS component as well Frankly,... 10 EVALUATING BASEBALL’S MANAGERS not hurt to check Besides, looking at the manager section in the ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia (which lists Pythagorean deviation for all managers in each season) reveals some skippers— such as Earl Weaver and Harry Wright — had strikingly consistent patterns for their careers Personally, the algorithm-based components are the only ones I strongly feel say much about managers, ... the numbers before moving on to the skippers Consequently, this book features two parts: an analytical one that presents the various techniques for evaluating managers, and a commentary section that discusses the careers of 89 of baseball’s most important managers based on the tools described in the first part Part I consists of three chapters, each of which introduces a different analytical track Chapter... proclivities and interests for managers Though it is a short chapter, it forms the real core for Part II, the book’s commentary The third chapter examines and quantifies a long-lasting (though now dormant) practice managers had for using their starting pitchers— leveraging them against specific opponents 3 This page intentionally left blank 1 A Evaluating Managerial Performance What makes managers important? There... performance and particular tendencies of baseball’s field generals— its managers Although this is not the first sabermetric study of managers to be done, it is a bit different from much of what has come before it Most other attempts to quantify managerial performances focused on the ingame decisions made Individuals much smarter than myself have looked at very specific decisions managers make — such as sacrifice... add to people’s knowledge of the game’s managers, but it is not intended to be the last word on managers Instead, it is hoped to be the first word in a new approach on the subject PART I ANALYSIS A This book has a fairly basic goal: try to understand managers better, largely through the use of statistics Though the heart of this book thus focuses on individual managers themselves, it is necessary to... managers, had over two-thirds of his games occur in complete campaigns 14 EVALUATING BASEBALL’S MANAGERS Another concern is that this study does not correct a flaw in Phil Birnbaum’s original presentation as much as it reverses one Birnbaum believed his database only measured differences due to luck and ignored all else Here, managers alone are held responsible Obviously, luck still factors in, distorting... staff Some managers determine if a pitcher is tiring by noticing how his trailing leg looks in his follow-through, or how his back looks when pitching Others use the radar gun or track pitch counts Baylor used no discernable method Pitch counts could be high, the fastball could lose speed, and the hurler could be clearly melting on the mound and Baylor would leave him 18 EVALUATING BASEBALL’S MANAGERS. .. Bowl, but the club’s initial Shibe Park expe- 1 Evaluating Managerial Performance 19 rience Doc Prothro, the club’s first post–Baker Bowl manager, nearly makes the bottom list with a score of -158 runs despite a career that lasted only three seasons Club quality likely unfairly skews the Phillie managers downward, but odds are the club also hired bad managers After all, they fielded a series of rotten... The final two components are the strategic ones, showing which managers made the best decisions at the right times The fourth component analyzes which offenses scored more runs than they should have: List 7: Best at Team Offense, 1896 –2006 1 Leo Durocher 2 Tony LaRussa 3 Frank Chance +333 runs +297 runs +274 runs 24 EVALUATING BASEBALL’S MANAGERS List 7: Best at Team Offense, 1896 –2006 (continued) . class="bi x0 y0 w0 h0" alt="" EVALUATING BASEBALL’S MANAGERS This page intentionally left blank Evaluating Baseball’s Managers A History and Analysis. various techniques for evaluating managers, and a commentary section that discusses the careers of 89 of baseball’s most impor- tant managers based on the