Four National League teams – the Miami Marlins, the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Washington Nationals, all currently have managerial openings. Who fills these voids is anyone’s guess, but the following choices are all possibilities. The average offensive and pitching rankings are based on nine categories each, and the team’s rankings in each category are added and then divided by nine. (For example if a team ranks first in stolen bases, seventh in hits, eleventh in touched bases, etc., add up the total rankings and divide by nine)
Miami Marlins:
2015 Manager(s): Mike Redmond (16-22) and Dan Jennings (55-69)
2015 Record: 71-91 (10th in National League)
Average Offensive Ranking: 11th
Average Pitching Ranking: 8th
With names like Giancarlo Stanton, Dee Gordon, Christian Yelich, Jose Fernandez, Steve Cishek, and Martin Prado, most assumed the Marlins would be making a push for an NL East title, and by all accounts they should have. Giancarlo Stanton finished second in NL MVP voting in 2014, and that offseason signed a thirteen-year, $325 million contract with Miami. This season, however, Stanton missed eighty-eight games and still managed to hit twenty-seven home runs and drive in sixty-seven. Stanton’s absence meant Christian Yelich, Ichiro, and had to step up. Ichiro, originally slated to be a bench player, took over everyday right field and wound up hitting .229. Yelich got hurt, but still managed to produce. However, Yelich, and Dee Gordon who won the NL batting and stolen base title, was a surprising bright spot. With that talent and level of success among certain hitters, finishing twenty games under .500 is inexcusable. Then again, Dan Jennings thought he could manage.
Top Choice: Don Mattingly
Possibility: Dusty Baker
Dark Horse: Dan Jennings
Washington Nationals
2015 Manager(s): Matt Williams (83-79)
2015 Record: 83-79
Average Offensive Rank: 6th
Average Pitching Rank: 7th
Long story short, the Nationals thirteen more games than they did in 2014. Williams had everything to do with that and, despite winning Manager of the Year in 2014, he proved to be the architect to one of the most epic collapses in MLB history. By all accounts, the Nats should’ve been better and, like Miami, competed for the NL East. Poor game management would ultimately be their downfall. Hiring an experienced manager might be the only way to turn the Nationals around.
The Choice: Bud Black
Possibility: Dusty Baker
Dark Horse: Cal Ripken Jr.
Los Angeles Dodgers
2015 Manager: Don Mattingly (92-70)
2015 Record: 92-70
Average Offensive Rank: 8th
Average Pitching Rank: 5th
Plain and simple, the Dodgers should have been the team to beat in the National League every year of Mattingly’s five-year tenure. They were not. Mattingly proved that he should’ve left his legacy on the playing field. The Dodgers have Clayton Kershaw, perhaps the best left handed pitcher the game will ever see, and they cant make it past the NLDS? That’s not Kershaw’s fault (entirely). Mattingly has proven his ineptitude as a manager, but it looks like he may get a second chance.
The Choice: Gabe Kapler
Possibility: Ron Roenicke
Dark Horse: Dave Martinez
San Diego Padres
2015 Manager(s): Bud Black (32-33), Dave Roberts (0-1), Pat Murhpy (42-54)
2015 Record: 74-88
Average Offensive Rank: 12th
Average Pitching Rank: 7th
The Padres woes aren’t a product of a bad manager, but bad front office. AJ Preller came in and tried to buy and trade for many of the biggest name players in baseball. That plan crashed and burned, quickly. The Padres had the worst roster of these four teams, and with a lot of those guys still under contract, the new manager will have his work cut out for him.
The Choice: Dusty Baker
Possibility: Ron Gardenhire
Dark Horse: Pat Murphy
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