The New York Yankees have parted company after ten years with manager Joe Girardi and are now looking for a suitable successor. But some good options are already out of the race. Who’d like to be the new skipper of the Bronx Bombers? SPOX gives an overview. In the night on Saturday, game 3 of the World Series rises in Houston, SPOX shows the game from 2 o’ clock in the LIVESTREAM FOR FREE.
The Yankees had come close to failing at the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, so the team almost made it into the World Series. A more than surprisingly good performance by Joe Girardi’s young squad, he had far exceeded expectations before the season.
However, Girardi, who won the 2009 World Series with the team the last of 27, had to take his hat: after a decade under the former Yankees catcher, the front office led by General Manager Brian Cashman decided to go a different way. He had great successes in his ten years,”said Yankee legend Derek Jeter, who had played with Girardi at the end of the 90s and later under him,” I have the greatest respect for him. But it’s a business.”
Girardi, from a working class family, was more and more of a workhorse than a great communicator. Critics accuse him of being reluctant to follow the analytics wave that has been rolling through the sport for some years, and of not speaking the language of the latest generation of players – and the cadres of the MLB franchises are now getting younger and younger. The relationship with the New York media was also not always the best.
Since even the good result this season did not change the fact that Girardi’s contract in the Bronx was not renewed, the signs may have been on separation for quite some time. Cashman will have one or two names in the drawer.
It should be a Jürgen Klopp type of brand, for whom the players burn, who can wrap the media around their fingers or at least handle them with confidence. Someone who can develop the young squad, emerging stars like Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez or Luis Severino. who is deeply immersed in the latest analytics methods. Of course, someone who will also win the necessary victories in the end. And, most importantly, someone with a Yankee stable smell.
The classical squaring of the circle. If such a manager were obvious, the Yankees – or another team – would have taken him long ago. Cashman has to think about how he wants to cut back on it. At the same time, due to the long play-off run, you are late. The Boston Red Sox, for example, has secured one of the most promising managerial talents with Alex Cora from Houston Astros, as well as the New York Mets with Mickie Callaway.
Who’s high on Cashman’s list? SPOX gives an overview.
Behind Girardi there are some more names on the Yankees’ coaching director. Tony Pena, for example, has been First Base Coach in New York City since 2005 and previously worked as Manager of Royals. He was then preferred to Girardi, and since then he has been a multiple candidate for other franchises, leading the Dominican Republic to World Baseball Classic title in 2013. What speaks against the former catcher: Pena is no longer the youngest at the age of 60.
Rob Thompson would also be a candidate. The 54-year-old has been romping about in the organisation for 28 years now, whether in the Minor League, Player Development or third base. Thompson is currently the Bench Coach. He almost became manager of the Blue Jays, but then John Gibbons was chosen.
If you go one level lower, there’s Al Pedrique. The 57-year-old was voted Triple A Manager of the Year in the last two years and won the title in 2016. He has coached almost all the Yankees’ young stars, so the necessary connections to the players and the front office are there. Disadvantage: With the exception of half a season as interim manager of Diamondbacks 2004, he lacks experience in the MLB.
Cashman may also be looking around in his immediate environment: Tim Naehring is currently Vice President of Baseball Operations, he is very familiar with analytics and player development, but has no experience as a manager.
If Cashman wanted to hire an experienced man, there would be options at the moment: In addition to the Yankees, two other playoff teams have put their manager in front of the door – there had never been three such layoffs in an off-season before. John Farrell won the title with the Red Sox 2013, he has the successes, knows the AL East and knows how things work with the media. But he would also come from arch-rivals – and then there was this episode with the Apple Watch…
Dusty Baker of Nationals would be a great name. The 68-year-old has been very successful with the Nats in recent years, at least in the regular season and knows his way around stars. The fact that he was fired in the capital is said not to have pleased all players. But Baker would probably be too old for a Girardi-like run.
Otherwise? Brad Ausmus, so far with the Tigers, would bring playoff experience. But also Pete Mackanin, who had to switch to the front office at the Phillies, should not be forgotten. The 66-year-old has already worked as a scout for Cashman and has seen everything. But age speaks against him too: it was no coincidence that the three oldest MLB managers of the 2017 season were cut off – here too, the trend is clearly towards youth.
The outsider would be Don Mattingly, the former Yankee superstar who was also interviewed for the job in 2007. Afterwards, Mattingly went to the Dodgers for Mattingly, currently he is under contract with the Marlins as manager. But if Derek Jeter completely revamped the franchise, he might be available…
Maybe Cashman also takes full risk and conjures up a candidate out of the hat who approaches the matter without any MLB experience. American media, for example, have brought Raul Ibanez into conversation: the former outfielder played excellent playoffs for the Yankees in 2012 and was always considered a future manager after the end of his career. He knows Cashman, is a media fanatic and a man for the clubhouse. He’s currently an assistant to the Dodgers.
Another former Yankee: Jason Giambi, who also distinguished himself as a player as a mentor for the junior players. Giambi, however, like Ibanez, has no experience of any kind. And another Dark Horse: Eric Chavez, who played for the Yankees for two years and was a consultant to Cashman in 2015. He’s currently the assistant at the Los Angeles Angels.
And then Alex Rodriguez would still be. Nothing would make more headlines than to get back A-Rod, who is currently shining as an analyst at Fox Sports. He knows the sport inside out and knows the young players in the clubhouse from his time as a player. However, it is not even certain whether Rodriguez is looking for a career as a manager at all – and he didn’t always have the best connections to the front office as a professional.
This article was published without prior view by the Major League Baseball.
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