Who are some of the worst or overrated managers in baseball?

Question

I would say Dusty Baker (clueless), Tony LaRussa (lots of playoff series losses and Cardinals have been below .500 the past few months now), Eric Wedge (lots of talent, bad defense and fundamentals), Joe Torre (yes, what have the Yankees won in the past 6 years with all that talent?), Buck Showalter, Buddy Bell, Jim Tracy, to name a few.

Answer 1

You've named some good ones there, but I'll make a REALLY unpopular choice and say Bobby Cox of the Braves. Read me out. I know you have to do a lot of good (great) managing to get a team to the playoffs, and Cox has always done that (until this year). But my problem is HOW the Braves have always lost in the playoffs. The regular season is a long, grueling marathon. But the playoffs are a race. You have to approach them differently than you do the regular season. There has to be a sense of urgency in the playoffs, and Cox has NEVER been able to transition his teams from regular season to playoffs. Never. Not even when they won the WS in 1996. The Braves (and their fans) don't get excited. They just keep that same, overrated, "business-like" attitude in the playoffs, and they get beat. The regular season requires patience and a level head. The playoffs require heart and hunger. Cox has never gotten his teams to play hungry, not since they lost to the Twins in the WS in 1991. Throw in the fact that the wheels came off the wagon this year, his first year without Leo Mazzone running the pitching staff, and I think Cox is the most overrated manager in baseball.

Answer 2

Joe Torre is so overrated its not even funny. Hell i could manage the teams he has to the world series, anybody could, any manager on a team with a huge payroll should never win manager of the year or even get votes. Dusty baker is pretty overrated as well.

Answer 3

Tony LaRussa, Dusty Baker, Joe Torre (money won't buy championships), Ozzie Guilen, and Ron Gardenhire. Gardy wins with a system not great managing. Ozzie G is too stupid shooting his mouth at everything, and everyone.

Answer 4

I'll agree with you on LaRussa and I'm an A's fan. Choked with the White Sox in '83 (?), had two great A's teams that flopped in World Series play despite the '89 win and his Cards teams are dull, dull, dull!

But here's another name I'll throw out--Mike hargrove. He is horrible in handling young arms as he has shown in both Bal'mer and Seattle. If you look at the M's lineup they have loads of good young players but Hargrove is just clueless in getting it all to mesh together,

Answer 5

NO ONE can call Joe Torre overrated. He won four World Championships in his first five years with the Yankees, and has strongly contended for Manager of the Year this year and last, beside the fact that New York has been the most dominant force in the playoffs in the last decade.

Long live the Joe Torre Era!

Answer 6

Dusty needs to go the sooner the better it seams like he can't keep the pitchers healthy the past three years...LaRussa is a very good manager just bad luck in the playoffs

Answer 7

Joe Torre and Ozzie Guillen

Answer 8

1. pete rose
2. buddy bell
3. tony larussa

i don't agree about dusty baker because of injuries this year. they give buck showalter no quality pitchers. i would say ozzie guillen but he his team won the world series. however, his mouth is hurting his team this year!

Answer 9

Joe Torre
Ozzy whats his name of the White Sox

Answer 10

mike hargrove in Seattle the team is worse with him as a manager and the only reason he was good in Cleveland was because of Manny Ramirez, Jim thome, Albert belle, and Kenny lofton