Catchers Make the Best Major League Baseball Managers

Often in sports managers come in the form of former players, after all they know a lot about the game since they played. In Major League Baseball there is one position in particular that produces Major League Baseball managers, catcher.

In 2008 five Major League Baseball teams will have new managers and three of them, Joe Torre, Joe Girardi and John Russell, played catcher. Out of the 30 Major League Baseball managers, 12 of them played catcher.

Why do catchers make good managers? Catchers probably make good managers because catchers are like generals on the field. The catcher is the only player besides the pitcher that is a part of every play, and most pitchers aren't going to be playing the whole game while catchers often do. A catcher has to know every player's strengths and weaknesses and that ability to have a lot of knowledge carries on with them.

The following Major League Baseball managers all played catcher during their career:

Mike Scioscia (Angels)
Mike Scioscia was a two-time All-Star for the Los Angeles Dodgers and was a solid catcher for many years. Scioscia was catcher for the Dodgers during the 1988 World Series and caught most of the innings in Orel Hershiser's scoreless inning streak. Scioscia has also shown that he is a very capable manager. Scioscia has led the Angels to six winning seasons in the last eight years and won the Manager of the Year and led the Angels to the World Series in 2002.

Bob Geren (A's)
Bob Geren didn't have a long career in Major League Baseball but spent 10 years in the Minors before being called up by the New York Yankees where he played for three seasons. Last year Bob Geren replaced Ken Macha as the Oakland A's coach.

John Gibbons (Blue Jays)
John Gibbons had a very brief career with the New York Mets. Gibbons was expected to be the future catcher of the New York Mets but he only batted .220 in his short time in Major League Baseball. Gibbons became the manager of the Blue Jays in 2004 and in three full seasons has led the Blue Jays to 80 wins each year, including a second place finish in the American League East in 2006.