{"id":108021,"date":"2025-10-03T22:51:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T02:51:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=108021"},"modified":"2025-10-03T22:51:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T02:51:20","slug":"why-not-john-russell-mlb-manager-searches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/10\/03\/why-not-john-russell-mlb-manager-searches\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven MLB Teams Looking for Manager; Why Not This Former Pirate?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seven major league teams have managerial vacancies to fill, and once again, the phone of John Russell will be silent. He doesn\u2019t lobby for jobs through the media. For some, the 64-year-old might be too old school and not sufficiently hip to today\u2019s analytically driven baseball landscape. For others, maybe his quiet, low-key personality doesn\u2019t fit in this glitzy world where the manager participates in daily pre- and postgame shows on TV and is more the face of the team than any of the players. Still others might want to see more outward fire from a manager. No, Russell<\/a> doesn\u2019t do those things. But except for a stint as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2008-10, when he got the rawest of raw deals, one thing he does is win.<\/p>\n

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Sep 15, 2009; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates manager John Russell (7) during batting practice before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee\/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As MLB Teams Conduct Managerial Searches, Why Not John Russell?<\/h2>\n

Russell played in the major leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies (1984-88), Atlanta Braves (1989), and Texas Rangers (1990-93). A big right-handed-hitting catcher\/first baseman\/outfielder, he hit .225\/.282\/.371, 34 HR, and 129 RBI for his career. His finest moment as a player came on June 11, 1990, when he caught Nolan Ryan<\/a>\u2019s sixth career no-hitter while hitting a home run in the process.<\/p>\n

Russell then managed in the Minnesota Twins organization from 1994-2002 before becoming the Pirates\u2019 third base coach during 2003-05. The Pirates fired him during a 2005 housecleaning, and he managed the Phillies\u2019 Triple-A team in Ottawa before taking the Pirates\u2019 managerial position. Russell re-emerged in the majors as a bench coach for the Baltimore Orioles from 2011-18. His time in the minors included being recognized by Baseball America as the best minor league managerial prospect in 1999 and leading the Edmonton Trappers to the Pacific Coast League championship in 2002.<\/p>\n

More recently, he became the manager of the Tacoma Rainiers, the Seattle Mariners\u2019 Triple-A affiliate, in 2023, where he\u2019s enjoyed success. His three-year record at Tacoma, which also competes in the PCL, is 245-205. This past season, his Rainiers were 86-64, the best record in the PCL West Division. They were swept in two games by the Las Vegas Aviators in the PCL Championship Series. In 2024, he reached a milestone when he earned win number 1,000 as a manager, counting minor and major leagues.<\/p>\n