Connie Mack or Joe Torre...A fair comparison?

Question

Connie Mack was once a catcher, but made his mark as a manager. After a stint at the helm of Pittsburgh, he assumed control of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1901 and continued for 50 years until retirement at the age of 88. "The Tall Tactician," best remembered as a dignified, scorecard-waving leader in a business suit, won five World Series crowns and built two dynasties - with four pennants in five years from 1910 to 1914 and three in a row from 1929 to 1931. He holds the mark for wins (3,776) by a skipper.

Joe Torre, manager of the New York Yankees will definitely be inducted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

Is it a fair comparison or are we comparing apples and oranges by comparing Torre against Mack?

Could we switch Connie Mack and Joe Torre and still have winning seasons?

Answer 1

I think it's a fair comparison.

Both managers have proven that they can win when given great teams. For Torre, it's been the $200 million Yankees loaded with stars for the past decade. For Mack, it was guys like Home Run Baker, Eddie Collins, Eddie Plank and Chief Bender, then studs like Mickey Cochrane and Jimmie Foxx.

Both have proven that, given a crappy team, they can also lose. Mack has a career losing record because of the seasons that the A's would inevitably suffer whenever they sold off their players. Joe Torre had a losing record in his pre-Yankee career because he, too, wasn't working with his current group of Yankee superstars.

I don't think either is a bad manager, but I think that they both point towards the fact that a manager can only do so much, and that it comes down to the players on the field.

Answer 2

Cornelius McGillicutty? Didn't he wear a suit while managing?
I think all managers should wear suits in the dugout.
The Yankees should win every year with their payroll.