I respectfully disagree. I think a manager can make all the difference. One great example is the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers. Buck Rodgers led the Brewers to a first place finish in the strike shortened 1981 season. But the team started off slowly in 1982 under Rodgers. He got fired at 23-24. Harvey Kuenn, who was a coach, was made manager the rest of the way, and the Brewers went 72-43 with him at the helm.
This was a team with 4 future Hall of Famers (Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Don Sutton and Rollie Fingers) and another guy I think is a future Hall of Famer, Ted Simmons. It had the 1982 Cy Young Award winner in Pete Vuckovich, the 1981 Cy Young winner and MVP Rollie Fingers, the 1982 MVP in Robin Yount. This team was loaded offensively. It hit 216 home runs. Gorman Thomas hit 39, Ben Oglivie had 34, Cecil Cooper had 32, Robin Yount had 29, Ted Simmons hit 23, Paul Molitor hit 19, Don Money hit 16. Cooper, Yount and Molitor had over 200 hits. Four guys drove in over 100 runs, and Simmons drove in 97. They could flat out hit. The difference between the Brewers being a .500 team, and the American League Champions, was the manager. Kuenn had a completely different coaching style. He was more laid back. He told his players to have fun. The team loosened up, and started playing up to their potential. They added Sutton at the beginning of September, but the Brewers were already 25 games over .500 at 78-53.
In this case, the manager made the difference. The players loved Kuenn, and he knew how to take the controls perfectly. The Brewers could have brought in anybody, and I don't think they're as successful with somebody else. At that place in time, it was a perfect marriage.
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Originally Posted by Shoebox
Frankly I think manager has relatively little influence on the game. You take Joe Torre and a subpar roster. I will take a top level roster and will name a new manger selected from the crowd every night and my team still finishes 20 games above yours in the standing. There isnt a manager in the league I wouldn't trade in a heartbeat to upgrade my 3rd starter or the 6 spot in my line up.
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