Colorado Rockies news and links for Thursday, October 3, 2024
What goes into choosing the perfect manager?
Is it their knowledge of the intricacies of baseball? The deeper understanding of team relationships? Their resumé of coaching success?
It’s probably a combination all of those, but that ain’t what we’re talking about today.
Throw out your wins and losses! Forget your postseason success! A pox on your managerial skills!
It’s ranking season here at Purple Row, so today I’m here to rank the seven managers in Rockies history — Don Baylor, Jim Leyland, Buddy Bell, Clint Hurdle, Jim Tracy, Walt Weiss, and Bud Black — by completing discounting their managerial tenures completely. That’s right, I’m talking purely about their MLB playing careers.
Let’s get weird.
7th place: Jim Leyland
Ever heard the adage “those that can’t do, teach?” That applies to our first entry, Jim Leyland. Considered one of the greatest skippers in MLB history, Leyland never got the opportunity to show his skills at baseball’s highest level while he was a player.
Jumping around the minors for about six years, he did his best to stick around as a catcher, but wasn’t able to break the AA level. Because he made no appearances in the majors, Leyland pretty easily takes the bottom rung in our ranking (though I think he ended up doing okay for himself).
6th place: Jim Tracy
The first of our septet to appear in MLB games, Jim Tracy played two seasons for the Cubs in 1980 and ‘81. He didn’t exactly light the world on fire, accumulating a negative bWAR for his efforts,
Tracy appeared to struggle mightily in the field and didn’t do a ton at the plate, but he did once hit a game-winning home run, so that’s pretty cool!
5th place: Clint Hurdle
Clint Hurdle saw a good amount more success than Tracy. His ten seasons saw him play all over the diamond, but the majority of his time was spent roaming Kansas City’s outfields. It was with those Royals that he saw postseason action in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Interestingly, Hurdle’s best work seemed to come in the playoffs as he owns a career .333/.421/.424 in his 14 career postseason contests. Not bad!
Hurdle never quite lived up to the hype surrounding his status as a first-round draft pick, but he can take solace in the fact that he had more success than other first-rounders like, say, Ben Paulsen.
4th place: Walt Weiss
We’ll take a pretty solid step up as we get to our next entrant, Walt Weiss. The 14-year shortstop is the first on our list to have made an All-Star appearance (in ‘98 with the Braves – the one in Colorado, no less!) and took home Rookie of the Year honors in 1988.
Certainly a glove-first player, Weiss served the role of a prototypical shortstop well for a few different teams. While by no means a legend, he filled his role well and was a worthy addition to his squads, as his career 16,5 bWAR suggets. Well done, Weiss!
3rd place: Bud Black
The winningest manager in Colorado Rockies history is the first on our list to have been a pitcher. Having spent 15 seasons in various organizations, Black gave up a healthy amount of contact and was dependent on ground balls to get him out of games. That led to some high WHIPs in his career, once leading Black to lead the league in losses in 1991.
His best season came in 1984, where he set career-bests in wins, ERA, innings pitched, and strikeouts. A year later, he’d be part of a World Series-winning Royals club in the timeless “Show-Me Series,” wherein Buddy took the loss in his lone start in game four.
Black’s work as a pitcher doubtless served him well when working with the young arms the Rockies cultivated under his tenure as manager. HIs time in MLB saw plenty of ups and downs, but a career 21.1 bWAR ain’t bad!
2nd place: Don Baylor
Colorado’s first-ever skipper gets the silver medal in our rankings today.
A beloved figure in Rockies history, Baylor found work for 19 long seasons in MLB, all on American League squads. The slugging outfielder had plenty of pop, racking up 2100 over 2100 hits, 366 doubles, 338 home runs, and 285 stolen bases.
Earning three Silver Sluggers and an All-Star nod were great, but Baylor’s crowning achievement was his brilliant 1979 campaign. His hot bat led the California Angels to a first-place finish in the American League West, and his 120 RBIs led all of MLB. It’s no wonder, then, that he was the recipient of that year’s Most Valuable Player award, perfectly capping off a fantastic offensive season.
While Baylor would not reach such heights again, he was still an imposing presence in the batters box for much of his career. There’s no question that he’d be the most accomplished of all Rockies managers, if not for…
1st place: Buddy Bell
Buddy Bell was only manager of the Rockies for about two seasons, but he was an absolute unit for much longer as a player.
Playing just about every position imaginable, and being good at all of them, earned him six straight Rawlings Gold Glove awards from 1979-1984, and his work at third base and shortstop in particular was a massive boon for the Texas Rangers — so much so that he led all of baseball in Defensive bWAR twice.
It wasn’t just defense, though. Bell was also a sound hitter, owning a career .279/.341/.406 slash line. The five-time All-Star unfortunately never played in the postseason, but the league didn’t need him to make the playoffs to appreciate his talent, as he finished in the top ten in MVP voting the very same year that Baylor won his.
While Baylor reached higher heights with his bat, Bell’s combination of excellent fielding and above-average hitting led him to accumulate 66.4 bWAR and, perhaps the most lucrative of all awards, the top spot in our ranking.
For my money, when it comes to their work on the field, no manager in Rockies history can compete with Buddy Bell.
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