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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 21⁄2 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)