The last few years in baseball has seen an explosion in analytics, and with that the increase of analytics-heavy managers. From Dave Roberts to Joe Maddon to Brad Ausmus, it seemed like almost every team was all-in on the numbers.
It’s something MLB Hall of Famer and analyst Pedro Martinez touched on after the first round exit for Los Angeles.
Pedro Martinez has some thoughts on how the Dodgers are making their baseball decisions https://t.co/aGUc9EU0Ad
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) October 12, 2019
But the analytics era may be nearing its end, at least according to the New York Daily News’ Bill Madden.
Now, in a column published on Saturday, Madden stated that the eight managerial openings in the MLB are the most since 2002. He noted a “common thread” with at least three of the firings.
“The team owner usurping his analytics-oriented GM by firing the manager and making it clear that he, the owner, will have the final call on the next manager.”
He goes on to list Andy Green, Brad Ausmus, and Gabe Kapler’s exits from the Padres, Angels, and Phillies respectively, and how they were each fired directly by their team’s owner. In each of these cases, the owner is also leading the search for a new manager.
Madden cites this as the reason why proven baseball guys such as Joe Girardi, Buck Showalter, Dusty Baker, and Joe Maddon are the biggest names in this year’s coaching carousel.
Interestingly enough, Joe Maddon is arguably one of the biggest analytics guys in baseball, and one could point to him as a big reason why several teams started shifting towards stat geeks. The difference though is that Joe Maddon has a track record of winning. He took the Rays and the Cubs to the World Series and ended the most infamous curse in sports three years ago.
So does this mark another shift in baseball, or is this the final backlash from the old school against the new school? Either way, this is shaping up to be an interesting winter.
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