clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Arizona Diamondbacks 20th Anniversary Team: Manager

What about the men outside the lines?

Buck Showalter

It’s always hard to be sure how much impact a manager has on a baseball team. Like an iceberg, we only get to see the 10% that goes on in the dugout, where games are actively managed. The vast bulk of managerial activity takes place out of sight of the fans, in the locker-room, as he tries to merge 25 players and their disparate personalities into a winning team. The manager can only do so much with what he is given, but bears the brunt of the responsibility for whatever may result, good or bad. Kirk Gibson won Manager of the Year in 2011: before three years had passed, he was fired. For Bob Melvin, the gap was even shorter, less than 212 years.

Similarly, the boot can be on the other foot. A.J. Hinch had the shortest tenure of any permanent manager in the desert, but is still more games below .500 than anyone else. Yet he just won a World Series as manager of the Houston Astros. So is he a bad manager or a good one? Or, possibly, both? Does Bob deserve less credit, for managing under an owner happy to open the wallet? (even if it was mostly money Colangelo wouldn’t be around to pay back) There are no easy answers to any of these questions. That’s what the comment section is for. :)

So, we need a manager for this 20th anniversary team. Below, you’ll find some stats for the seven permanent managers the Diamondbacks have had over that time, from Buck Showalter to Torey Lovullo. You could make a case for just about anyone, since all but two of them led us to the playoffs. Three posted winning records for their time in charge. But there can be only one, so vote for your favorite in the poll and explain your selection in the comments.

Diamondbacks’ managers

Mgr Yrs From To W L W-L% G>.500 G BestFin WrstFin AvRk
Mgr Yrs From To W L W-L% G>.500 G BestFin WrstFin AvRk
Buck Showalter 3 1998 2000 250 236 .514 14 486 1 5 3.0
Bob Brenly 4 2001 2004 303 262 .536 41 565 1 5 2.1
Bob Melvin 5 2005 2009 337 340 .498 -3 677 1 4 2.3
A.J. Hinch 2 2009 2010 89 123 .420 -34 212 5 5 5.0
Kirk Gibson 5 2010 2014 353 375 .485 -22 728 1 5 3.0
Chip Hale 2 2015 2016 148 176 .457 -28 324 3 4 3.5
Torey Lovullo 1 2017 2017 93 69 .574 24 162 2 2 2.0

Poll

Who should be manager of our 20th anniversary team?

This poll is closed

  • 62%
    Bob Brenly
    (135 votes)
  • 1%
    Kirk Gibson
    (4 votes)
  • 0%
    Chip Hale
    (1 vote)
  • 0%
    A.J. Hinch
    (2 votes)
  • 10%
    Torey Lovullo
    (22 votes)
  • 11%
    Bob Melvin
    (24 votes)
  • 12%
    Buck Showalter
    (27 votes)
215 votes total Vote Now