Sparky Anderson has been placed in hospice care with complications stemming from dementia, his family announced in a statement Wednesday.
The 76-year-old Anderson won three World Series titles and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
His sparkling managerial record speaks for itself.
In the end, he will undoubtedly be remembered as one of baseball’s all-time greats.
Let’s take a look at where Sparky Anderson ranks among the best managers in Major League Baseball since 1960.
Derek Jeter is one of the classiest guys in the Major Leagues and will go down as one of the best Yankees players in the history of the team.
With manager Joe Girardi’s contract figured out after he signed a three-year deal worth around $9 million it is now Jeter who will be the primary focus of the team. Brian Cashman knows he’s in for a delicate negotiation, but he needs to be sure Jeter signs on the Yankees’ terms.
Cashman is not afraid to make the tough decisions as he showed no mercy when he offered Bernie Williams a non-roster spring training invite. Williams looked at the offer as an insult and did not accept. Williams was one of the best center fielders in the game during his time along with his offensive output as a switch-hitter, yet there was Cashman making the cold-blooded decision.
When it came time to offer Joe Torre a new contract Cashman offered him one with incentives. It was an offer Torre found insulting as it required him to take a pay cut and earn incentives the deeper the Yankees played into the postseason. It was an offer he felt he had to refuse.
Now with Jeter a free agent Cashman has to continue to keep emotions out of the negotiating table. Cashman and most Yankees fans know what Jeter means to the franchise. Unlike some superstars who make their teams worry at night, the Yankees never worry about what Jeter is doing.
He has been one of the most marketable players in the history of the team. There are people who are Yankees fans just because of the way Jeter plays the game.
He was quoted numerous times about why he hustles on every single play. Jeter said there is always one person in the stands who is there to watch him and he feels it’s important to show that person he put all his effort into every game.
And if you watch the Yankees you can tell Jeter plays with his heart and soul. People applaud the way he runs out a routine ground ball to the shortstop, but why? Aren’t batters supposed to run everything out? The answer is yes, but most Major Leaguers don’t and Jeter is the exception to the rule.
The hustling he puts forth shows up in his career stats. When you look at the back of the baseball card some people may be amazed at what they see. Jeter has accumulated 2,926 hits in his time in the big leagues to go along with his .314 career batting average.
He is quickly rising past the greatest players who have ever donned pinstripes, thereby going past some of the game’s greats. He has passed Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig during the past two seasons. He holds the record for most hits in the postseason as well as extra-base hits.
This season, however, we witnessed the beginning of the decline for a living legend. We saw Jeter no longer able to cover as much ground as we have become accustomed to. We saw Jeter flailing at pitches he once was able to hit.
We witnessed Jeter ground into plenty of double plays because of him losing a step or two in the speed department. We witnessed Jeter’s power disappear and all this added to a career-low .270 average.
The question becomes what do the Yankees offer to a 36-year-old shortstop who is the face of the franchise, yet is heading downhill? Do you overpay for the appreciation of what he has done for the organization or do you play hardball?
The answer to this writer is in between. Cashman should not have to spend $23 million for a shortstop who is not producing at the level he should be. Instead Cashman should only offer $15 million per year for three years.
There is no team out there willing to come even close to shelling out that much money for a 36-year-old shortstop, so it’s not like Jeter will have anywhere else to go. It should also occur to Cashman to discuss the possibility of having Jeter change positions if it is deemed necessary.
Last, but not least, a personal services contract should be added to keep Jeter around the organization he helped build back into prominence.
Jeter is one of the greatest Yankees of all time, but he needs to be reasonable at the negotiating table and realize his play slipped and with it comes a pay cut.
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Now that the search for their general manager is over, the Mets can now concentrate on getting a manager. At the moment, they are in the early stages. Many names are being mentioned, and we all know that only a few will become serious contenders for the job.
Sandy Alderson said in yesterday’s press conference that he would like a fiery manager. That gave this whole situation new life. Now people are saying that Wally Backman has a real shot to get the job because he fits Sandy’s description of a fiery guy. The truth is that there is not one front-runner for getting the job. Everybody has an equal chance right now, and interviews are just beginning to take place.
Here are 11 people who the Mets might be interested in for their new manager.
It’s official.
Joe Girardi will remain the New York Yankees’ skipper for three more seasons.
Many Yankees fans have been quick to blame Girardi for the team’s failure to repeat as World Series Champions. Fans were frustrated all season with Girardi, blaming any loss on unnecessary pitching changes or playing it by the book/binder.
I personally didn’t agree with the hyper-criticism most of the time. It isn’t going to accomplish anything. In 2009, Girardi was praised for moving Derek Jeter from the two-hole to the leadoff spot. This season, fans constantly complained about getting Jeter out of the spot, blaming Girardi and not Jeter’s problems at the plate.
Winning a World Series, followed by a trip to the ALCS is an excellent track record by my standards. Does that mean I agree with every move Joe Girardi made? No, it doesn’t. There are always going to be questionable moves, particularly when it comes to being the skipper of the New York Yankees.
It would be one thing if Girardi was lazy and his decisions were effortless, but that is not the case. Girardi wants to win as much as any fan or player. Girardi treats all the players fairly, not asking them to do anything he has not done or would not do himself. I trust him as a skipper, but more importantly as a person.
Being used to Joe Torre’s laid-back mannerism for so many years, it was hard to let go and move on. Torre’s shoes were the hardest to fill in baseball in 2007, no matter who replaced him.
Joe Girardi has brought the Yankees back to the forefront of baseball again. The team hasn’t been this fun to watch since 1998, because Girardi believes in every single player and truly wants him to succeed. This is a sentiment Torre did not share as Yankee fans learned from his book, which is not a quality characteristic in a manager, or any leader, for that matter.
Girardi isn’t perfect, but find me a better man more suitable for the Yankees. As of today, Joe Girardi is the right man for this job and I am happy he is around for three more seasons. I am looking forward to seeing numbers 28, 29 and, god-willing, 30 on the back of his jersey.
Congratulations on a job well done!!!
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There was little drama to the negotiations that led to the three-year contract extension Joe Girardi reportedly agreed to with the Yankees on Thursday.
It kind of makes all the second-half speculation about Girardi’s future seem a bit silly in retrospect. I’m not innocent—on more than one occasion I joked that Girardi did postgame interviews this summer while looking over blueprints of Wrigley Field’s manager’s office.
As it turned out, the rumors tying the manager to his hometown Cubs turned out to be a lot of loose-ended chatter. The Yankees wanted Girardi and Girardi wanted the Yankees. An agreement was inevitable.
I would say “collective shrug” is the best way to describe how the fanbase feels about Girardi’s return. Whether it be a little post-Torre hangover or a personality so tightly-wound that Tony Pena is contractually obligated to do daily checks for a massive stroke, it’s clear Girardi will never be the fan favorite his predecessor was.
Perhaps it’s not fair to compare the two. Torre was the ultimate example of right guy, right place, right time. He took the job at a later stage in his life and fully embraced the spotlight—some would say he craved it—and he knew exactly how to handle both the media and George Steinbrenner.
On the strength of four World Series titles in five years, Torre became an icon in New York. He’s on the Mount Rushmore of Yankee managers, his bulbous nose carved into stone alongside Miller Huggins, Casey Stengel and a two-thirds-in-the-bag Billy Martin.
Girardi and Torre are polar opposites in some ways. Where as Torre had to be poked with a stick just to see if he was alive on the bench, Girardi stands firmly at attention, always focused and alert. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him sitting down.
And while one of Torre’s strengths was the easy-going nature in which he handled both streaks and slumps, every loss seems to destroy a little piece of Girardi. By the end of this season he looked like he had been in a POW camp for a decade.
The final three years of the Torre era started to seem like Groundhog Day, with 95-win teams going out quietly in the ALDS. Girardi’s first three years have each been distinct.
Year One was all about transition, not just from the managerial sense, but in the bridge from the Giambi/Mussina Era to the Teixeira/Sabathia Era. The Yankees failed to make the postseason for the first time in 13 years in 2008, but Girardi escaped any real blame.
Year Two brought real expectations, and Girardi’s job seemed to be in danger when a team buoyed by $400 million in free-agent acquisitions was struggling to stay above .500 in June. Luckily for Girardi, the Yankees snapped out of their early funk and started a roll that culminated with a World Series title.
Year Three returned the Yankees to the familiar post-dynasty ground of postseason failure, though I think most fans agree that just getting to Game 6 of the ALCS was a small achievement considering the gaping holes in the roster. Thanks Cash!
That the Yankees gave Girardi three years tells you a lot about the faith they have in him. This could be another difficult transition year, but barring a Spitzer-esque meltdown, the Yankees will put their trust in Girardi to guide them.
And while his in-game managing skills sometimes make you want to beat him over the head with his own beloved binder, there is a reassuring way to how he carries himself: Steady, disciplined and relentlessly focused. In a time where many aspects of the franchise are up in the air, there’s something to be said for that.
Dan Hanzus writes the Yankees blog River & Sunset and can be reached at dhanzus@gmail.com. Follow Dan on Twitter @danhanzus.
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The 2010 season will go down in baseball history for what will be perhaps the biggest loss of managerial talent the game has ever suffered in a single year.
We now know that Tony La Russa will be back with the Cardinals next year, but that only means the damage is being contained; Major League Baseball will nevertheless begin next season without managerial icons Bobby Cox, Joe Torre, or Lou Piniella.
With Charlie Manuel not getting any younger, and Jim Leyland and Cito Gaston looking just plain tired at the end of last season, who knows where the carnage will end?
To commemorate the retirement of three legendary forces inside the clubhouse, we take a look at the Top 100 Major League Managers of All Time.
The Los Angeles Dodgers couldn’t have summarized their disappointing season any better than manager Joe Torre’s farewell speech Sunday, following a Dodgers win that allowed the team to finish a game under .500 for a fourth-place finish in the National League West.
Torre’s speech seemed to stumble along in pleasantry, rambling while he searched for words to describe his tenure as Dodgers manager.
It was clear one of the winningest managers in the history of baseball was exhausted, disappointed, and bewildered in front of a less-than-capacity crowd in Chavez Ravine.
The skipper’s words were hollow, as it was clear he was ready to move on, and wanted to get off the field and out of the uniform as fast as humanly possible.
The Dodgers were certainly hampered by injuries all season long, and a full head of steam wouldn’t hold up as the team started to fall apart.
Long before September rolled around, it was clear the Boys in Blue were fading, and when rumors of Torre leaving the team at the end of the season began to surface, it was the final straw in a string of disappointments for the Dodgers and their fans.
Torre didn’t close the door on the idea of managing a new team next season, saying “I hope you welcome me whenever I come back to this city.”
Perhaps he was referring to each time his new National League team comes to the Ravine. Torre has been linked to the idea of managing the New York Mets, taking on a new challenge to turn a team around in his old stomping grounds.
His speech was more a window into things to come than a reflection on what has transpired in the 2010 season.
As Torre searched for words, it was clear his heart may have never really been in it, and Los Angeles served as a change of scenery; the polar opposite of life in New York.
Joe traded cold September nights and historic sights for palm trees and bright Hollywood lights. This was a three-year vacation for him, and it’s clear this was never the new page in a new era of the same dynasty, but rather a segue into the twilight.
A short speech was the climax and epitome of the Dodgers 2010 season, and Torre’s time in Los Angeles will likely be short-lived as well.
Dodgers fans should have expected more, and they deserve more, having endured a constant distraction of a divorce in ownership, and a lack of effort towards a playoff run while funds were limited.
Los Angeles deserves a champion, and just maybe Don Mattingly will succeed where Torre failed, and all he has to do is win.
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ESPN is reporting that it is looking like Joe Torre will not be managing in the Major Leagues again. The Yankees and Mets could have job openings in the winter, but Tony Jackson is reporting that most likely those will be passed up.
Instead, Jackson writes, Torre could be managing a team compiled of some of the best players in the Major Leagues with Team USA.
The next World Baseball Classic will be in the first months of 2013 and Joe Torre is considering a nice stint as the United States national team’s manager. Torre is a manager with a resume filled with success and the United States has not fared all that well in the past tournaments.
Could the addition of such an accomplished manager put them over the top?
Joe Torre is of Italian and American decent. This makes him eligible to manage either the Italian National Team or the United States National Team.
The Yankees have a familiar face in the World Baseball Classic every year with Derek Jeter. Jeter has taken on the role of Captain America with his leadership skills in the past two tournaments. Some critics go as far to say that he has become the face of Major League Baseball in some respects.
A Jeter-Torre reunion would be great for audiences if that should happen in 2013. Jeter has Father Time catching up to him sooner or later. The only question is whether he will last until 2013.
The 2013 World Baseball Classic is years away. Joe Torre and the committee responsible for appointing the Team USA manager have time to start planning for the upcoming tournament before making any major move. It will most likely be a year or a bit more until an official appointing for the job is made.
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Tim Wallach says he’s ready to manage in the bigs, and after being passed over by the Los Angeles Dodgers, he may finally have his chance.
According to Bob Nightengale of the USA Today, the Blue Jays currently have their eyes on Colorado Rockies hitting coach Don Baylor, but he also says that Wallach is quickly emerging as a front-runner for the managing job in Toronto.
Current Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston has already announced his retirement effective at the end of the season.
Wallach was the fan favorite to succeed Dodgers‘ manager Joe Torre at the end of this year, however an alleged “secret agreement” was reached between Los Angeles and Don Mattingly before the 2010 campaign ever began.
Upon hearing the news that Mattingly was named the new manager of the Dodgers on September 17, Wallach told members of the media that he would prefer to work under Mattingly rather than return to Triple-A Albuquerque.
Since then, Wallach has been exploring his options. It’s speculated that as many as 12 teams could be in search of a new manager this winter.
Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane told Nightengale that “It’s going to be a circus.”
Over the course of his 16 years as a player in the Majors, Wallach won three Gold Glove awards for defensive excellence and two Silver Slugger awards for his abilities with the bat. He was also named to five All-Star teams.
In 2004, Tim returned to the Dodgers as batting coach, and in January of last year he was named manager of the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Dodgers’ Triple-A farm club. He eventually led the Isotopes into the playoffs with a franchise record 80 wins and was named as Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year.
Wallach is quickly developing a reputation as a “player’s manager,” and has earned the outspoken respect and backing of almost every player he’s coached.
It’s not yet known if Wallach has met formally with any representatives from Toronto. The Blue Jays are also talking with former Arizona Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin, and ex-Cleveland Indians skipper Eric Wedge.
After current Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia was passed over by the Dodgers back in the early 90s, many folks around Dodgertown are hoping the franchise wasn’t letting another diamond in the rough slip through its hands.
Scioscia led the Angels to their first World Series championship in 2002. He is the Angels’ all-time managerial leader in wins, games managed, and division titles. Scioscia was honored with the official American League Manager of the Year Award in 2002 and 2009.
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New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi won a World Series last season and also was voted Manager of the Year in 2006 with the Florida Marlins.
The Chicago Cubs currently have an interim manager, Mike Quade, after Lou Piniella left the team in August to take care of his ailing mother. Quade has led the Cubbies to a 20-11 record in his short time as skipper.
They are known as the Cubbies or Baby Cubs because they are using all their young players. These kids are producing at a high level and much of the credit is going to the interim manager.
Despite Quade’s success and the respect he has earned with his team and the league, the Cubs are searching for a proven manager.
One guy rumored to be in contention for the job is Chicago area native Joe Girardi. Now that Girardi has guided the Yankees into a tailspin in September, he has become a bit more edgy with the media and has begun to manage games differently.
He is in panic mode, evidenced by starting Phil Hughes on Sunday when Dustin Moseley was supposed to get the nod against Boston. My opinion is that when Girardi saw the Tampa Bay Rays lose, he wanted to try and “gain a game,” and allowed Hughes to start against Boston to better the Yankees’ chances of winning.
The power of winning last year’s World Series might not be enough for Girardi to avoid the heat of October baseball in New York. The games are more tense, and so is Girardi.
Two months ago, the possibility of Girardi bolting the Yankees for hometown Chicago was, at best, a rumor. Now, it could be more of a reality than Yankee fans think.
Girardi was not saying NO directly at the time as a way of generating a more lucrative Yankee extension, but he might be able to get the same money elsewhere.
If the Cubs were really set on hiring Ryne Sandberg as their new manager, they would have announced it already, same as the Los Angeles Dodgers saying Mattingly will be their new manager.
Win or lose the World Series, there is now better than a 50-50 chance Girardi leaves for the comforts of home. Girardi will relish the chance to coach a young team again, and not be second guessed as much when he makes head scratching moves.
So when Girardi leaves for Chicago, there will be one big open seat for hire, and one much smaller seat across the river in Queens.
Let’s go over the possibilities for the next Yankees manager when Girardi leaves.
Jerry Manuel has no shot. Just thought I would throw that out there for a good laugh.
I personally would love to have Tony LaRussa as manager, but he may not leave St. Louis. Also, if you think Girardi is short with the media, wait until LaRussa gets in front of the New York market.
Also, the last time a former St. Louis manager came to work for the Yankees, it did turn out quite well.
So, with Joe Torre “retiring” from the Los Angeles Dodgers, would it be a good fit to bring back Torre to manage this team of veteran players?
One word: NO.
Despite guys like Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte loving the old guy, there is just too much animosity in Yankee land regarding Torre.
Brian Cashman would never resort to bringing him back. Forget about all that hugging garbage on the George Steinbrenner tribute night. The Yankee respected George too much to not bring back Torre for the ceremony, but they do not like him enough to have him sitting in the dugout again.
The Yankees are different now than when Torre first managed here. They are all about innings limits, using their relievers differently than Torre does (meaning overuse of one or two guys), and bringing up younger players to fill roles much cheaper.
Torre has recently said that he is unable to relate to the younger players and can’t get through to them like he can with veterans.
How will that play out in New York now, especially with the tension Torre would create with Alex Rodriguez over the details in his book. Seeing a person you dislike (and do not respect anymore) is fine when it is for one day, for one event, and you only have to speak to them once.
But to acknowledge and speak to the person on an everyday basis during an entire season would generate lots of tabloid headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Torre would not be a good fit for the Yankees.
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