Rumors of new baseball managers for the 2011 season have been flying about in the baseball world.
Many names have surfaced, including Don Mattingly, Willie Randolph, Joe Torre, Bobby Valentine, and current bench coach of the New York Yankees, Tony Pena.
Tony Pena has been part of the Yankee coaching staff for five consecutive seasons, serving as the first base coach, catching instructor, and currently the bench coach.
His value has been tremendous over the years. Tony Pena has improved the performance of catchers during his tenure as the catching instructor with the Yankees. As a result of this, catchers threw out runners more than 25 percent of the time.
Why would Tony Pena leave baseball’s most successful franchise?
Personally, I have no idea.
Money? Who has more money than the Yankees? Nobody. His salary can’t be less than $500,000 can it?
The Players? Possibly, but judging from his dugout visages, Pena looks satisfied. Basing an argument on just that, however, is very weak.
Maybe Tony wants a new change of scenery? This is the deciding factor. Tony Pena either loves the Yankees or is sick of them. If he is sick of them, he would have left sooner, right?
My heart, as well as many other Yankee fans’, will break if Tony Pena does decide to leave New York.
If Pena does decide to leave, these are his most likely choices (in no particular order): New York Mets, Florida Marlins, Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, or even his former team, the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Tony Pena has the intelligence and skill to manage any ball club. His feisty yet determined attitude makes him a great fit for any team.
He was a top candidate for the job after Torre’s departure. He even was Manager of the Year with the underachieving Royals!
No matter what uniform Tony Pena wears next season, I hope that he is successful in all his endeavors.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com