When Mike Matheny was announced to replace Tony LaRussa as the St. Louis Cardinals manager, some eyebrows were raised. Matheny had no managerial experience at any level. He was the opposite of LaRussa, who micromanaged games and rosters, to the point of a "genius" label by some pundits.
When Robin Ventura was announced to replace Ozzie Guillen as the Chicago White Sox manager, some eyebrows were raised. Ventura had no managerial experience at any level. He was the opposite of the temperamental Guillen, who had clashes with GM Kenny Williams. But Guillen had gotten the White Sox a championship, but had worn out his welcome. Ventura was supposed to put a calm face on the White Sox.
So when the Colorado Rockies beat writers tell that current player Jason Giambi is a "real" candidate to become the next Rox manager, some eyebrows will be raised. Giambi admitted using steroids and PEDs. However, since he came clean early and was apologetic, he normally gets a pass from the fans and the league. The other issue is that Giambi has no managerial experience at any level. He played on the team that underperformed in a small market situation. The question is can he turn from player and teammate to manager - tough guy when the going gets rough.
But there is a clear pattern emerging in major league baseball circles.
It is now acceptable to hire managers without any managerial experience.
It seems to be a contradiction. In the normal business world, you don't hire a green horn kid and
give him the keys to the factory and expect any kind of results. The one thing former players have in common is the MLB experience. But just playing the game does not mean one is good at leading a team.
Matheny and Ventura exceeded expectations in their first years as managers. Those results will probably trigger more non-experience hires. It provides the front office with two critical positives: lower salary for an inexperienced manager and control. General managers will have more influence over a green first year manager than an experienced old school general. And management control is becoming more prevalent in all sports. Baseball has just taken it to another level.
