MLB Managers Power Ranked

Who would I want to manage my team right now?

Factors considered when ranking my list:

Past regular season success

Past postseason success

Steadiness

Communication b/w players

Feel for the game

Universal respect

#30: Pirates - Derek Shelton

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 19-41

Explained - As a player, he was in the Yankees farm system and played alongside Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. This allowed him to see the work ethic it takes to be great. As a coach, he has been a manager in the minors, a hitting coach, a quality control coach, as well as a bench coach. His managerial record with the Pirates isn't indicative of the baseball mind he has, but is all we have to go off of at this point.

#29: Mets - Luis Rojas

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 26-34

Explained - Rojas has managerial pedigree in his DNA. His father, Felipe Alou, was an ex-player and manager. It's going to be interesting to see how he manages the expectations surrounding the Mets this season.

#28: Orioles - Brandon Hyde

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 79-144

Explained - Hyde won a World Series championship as an assistant for the 2016 Chicago Cubs. He took over as manager of a declining Baltimore Orioles team. For Hyde, you hope the Orioles can build a solid foundation for the future.

#27: Rangers - Chris Woodward

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 100-122

Explained - Woodward had a playing career that spanned from 1999 to 2011. In that span, he played for seven different organizations. By doing so, he was able to learn from highly esteemed managers Terry Francona and Bobby Cox, among others. Prior to being named the manager of the Rangers, he was an assistant with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Woodward interviewed for the New York Yankees manager position after the 2017 season, which eventually went to Aaron Boone. The Rangers are in a full rebuild, but Woodward should be the manager for many years to come.

#26: Blue Jays - Charlie Montoyo

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 99-123

Explained - Montoyo is one of many ex-Rays assistants that ended up becoming managers. He proved his worth with the Durham Bulls by winning 633 games in 8 seasons as the manager. Not much is known about Montoyo, but he is someone to watch now that the Blue Jays have the pieces to compete.

#25: Giants - Gabe Kapler

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 190-194

Explained - It's difficult to determine much about Kapler as a manager. In his three seasons as a manager he has posted winning percentages of .494, .500 and .483. The Giants don't figure to be serious threats to the NL West in the next couple of seasons. Kapler is known as an 'analytics' guy so his managerial career may live or die by the numbers, figuratively.

#24: Mariners - Scott Servais

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 348-360

Explained - Managing in Seattle is a difficult yet easy task. It's difficult because the team hasn't had the talent to compete with their division foes. However, it's easy because fans in the Pacific Northwest don't have high expectations. Servais has produced two 86+ win seasons during his five year stint with the Mariners. He's second all-time in wins for the Mariners behind Lou Piniella.

#23: Marlins - Don Mattingly

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 753-762

Explained - Mattingly is the best current manager who was once a player. To that end, many believe Mattingly should be in the pro baseball hall of fame, but that's another story. He has multiple 90+ win seasons as a manager, but it's his 31 wins (out of 60) last year that was his most impressive performance. The Marlins had to overcome a COVID outbreak to not only make it to the finish line. The expectations for the Marlins to win was low, but their Wild Card series triumph against the Cubs solidified the Mattingly did.

#22: Royals - Mike Matheny

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 617-508

Explained - Matheny had to replace arguably the best manager of all-time in Tony La Russa. He started his managing career by leading the Cardinals to four straight postseason appearances. In 2013, they made it to the World Series but fell in six games to the Red Sox. His initial success as a manager played a large role in his downfall. Matheny was let go after the Cardinals missed the postseason in back to back seasons. If he can guide the Royals to success he is someone that could shoot up the manager power rankings.

#21: Diamondbacks - Torey Lovullo

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 285-261

Explained - Lovullo may have one of the most difficult managerial positions in the league. Arizona doesn't have the history as being a hotbed for winning. Even so, Lovullo has had a winning record in 3 of his 4 seasons including one postseason appearance with the Diamondbacks. He is one of the better managers in the league, but may be the scapegoat if upper management believes he should compete with the current talent on its roster.

#20: Reds - David Bell

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 106-116

Explained - Bell is one of five families to have three generations play in the major leagues. Bell had a playing career that spanned twelve seasons and was ejected only 7 times. In his two seasons as a manger he has been ejected 11 times, with 8 of those coming in 2019. He's a manager that goes to battle for his guys, and they rewarded him with a postseason appearance last year.

#19: Rockies - Bud Black

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 924-985

Explained - Black was the second longest tenured manager in San Diego Padres history. It's difficult to take over for a future hall of famer, Bruce Bochy, but he did so quite nicely. Now in Colorado he has helped the Rockies make the postseason twice in four seasons. His managerial success is going to be tested now that Arenado is gone.

#18: Cubs - David Ross

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 34-26

Explained - Ross is a part of the growing trend in baseball that requires zero coaching experience before being named a major league manager. Granted, his 15-year MLB career as a catcher is probably of higher value than paying his dues as an assistant. He has been touted as having one of the best baseball minds in the game. Last year, he was able to guide the Cubs to the postseason. Although it ended abruptly, the expectations are high going forward despite the changes in the front office and on the field.

#17: White Sox - Tony La Russa

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 2,728-2,365

Explained - La Russa is 35 wins away from becoming the second most winning manager of all-time. This had to have played a large part in him returning to the dugout. Similar to Tom Brady, La Russa doesn't need to prove anything, but could solidify his status as the best to ever manage if he can deliver another championship. It remains to be seen how his rigid managerial approach will translate with the 'let the kids play' style of baseball that is prevalent.

#16: Astros - Dusty Baker

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 1,892-1,667

Explained - I feel bad for Dusty because he is indisputably one of the best managers of all-time. He's won division titles, manager of the year awards, a pennant, but hasn't been able to hoist the commissioner's trophy. Questions that come to mind about his legacy are: 1.) What if the Giants didn't blow a 5-0 lead in game 6 of the 2002 World Series? 2.) What if Bartman doesn't interfere with that foul ball? 3.) What if the Nationals don't fire Dusty Baker after a season in which he won 97 games? These are all good hypothetical questions. The Astros should give him an opportunity for another postseason run. Will he get his championship in Houston?

#15: Padres - Jayce Tingler

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 37-23

Explained - Prior to last year, there wasn't much known about Tingler. He interviewed for the Rangers managerial position in 2018, which ultimately went to Woodward. With the Padres equipped for a run we'll see how long of a leash Tingler has. Many believe it's World Series (or at least appearance) or bust. The pressure will be on for him to succeed.

#14: Phillies - Joe Girardi

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 1,016-826

Explained - Girardi is the last manager to win a championship for the New York Yankees. That was all the way back in 2009. History could have been so much different had the Yankees defeated the Astros in the 2017 ALCS. Then again, history could have been so much different had the Astros not been cheating that season/series. Girardi is a good coach who is loved by his players. His success or failure with the Phillies will be more of a gauge on his managerial skills than his time with the Yankees.

#13: Tigers - A.J. Hinch

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 570-452

Explained - Hinch's stint as the manager of the Diamondbacks was not a success by the numbers, but allowed him to learn and adjust his managerial style. Taking over the Astros at the time he did was a stroke of luck for sure. The amount of talent he inherited was absurd. He will always be viewed as the guy that cheated the game, which is rightly deserved, but we shouldn't diminish his success in the future. He has his work cut out for him in Detroit. If he can lead them to the postseason in years to come he'll be one of the games best managers.

#12: Angels - Joe Maddon

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 1,278-1,102

Explained - Maddon's style is unorthodox to say the least. It's a style that has worked for him since the beginning. Everywhere he's gone he has won. He took a perennial losing organization (Tampa Bay Rays) to the World Series in just his third season. He then snapped a 108-year World Series drought with the Cubs. If Maddon can repeat this success for the Angels he will be viewed as one of the best managers of all-time. The one knock against him is that his style of managing wears out its welcome. Just ask Cub fans.

#11: Nationals - Dave Martinez

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 201-183

Explained - In his first season with the Nationals he went an uninspiring 82-80. Not terrible, but enough for Bryce Harper to look elsewhere in free agency. The next season the Nationals started out 19-31. How close to being fired was he, we'll never know. Luckily for him, the team turned it around and eventually won the World Series in historic fashion. If he can continue to help in the development of Juan Soto it will go a long way in determining his team's success.

#10: Cardinals - Mike Shildt

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 162-127

Explained - Shildt was named interim manager in the middle of the 2018 season after the Cardinals fired Mike Matheny. Since then he hasn't looked back. His career path makes him a guy you want to root for. He has been a high school coach, college assistant coach, associate scout, minor league coach, and finally to where he is now. By observing Shildt and his managerial style it's easy to see why the Cardinals have been so successful.

#9: Athletics - Bob Melvin

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 1,260-1,196

Explained - I'm not sure there is a more even keel manager than Bob Melvin. This style has worked for him his whole career. He's never managed teams featuring the most talent, but consistently churns out wins. It would be fun to see what he could do with a team featuring realistic championship aspirations. If he can get Oakland to an ALCS, or further, his status as a top manager would be solidified.

#8: Twins - Rocco Baldelli

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 137-85

Explained - Baldelli was a really really good player. Had injuries and health not slowed him down it's fair to say he could've been a multi year all-star. His trials and tribulations as a player have helped him develop into the manager he is today. Baldelli has a career winning percentage of .617 in his brief two year run as manager of the Twins. He checks all the boxes for what organizations are looking for in a manager nowadays. He's young, he's steady, and he knows data analytics.

#7: Yankees - Aaron Boone

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 236-148

Explained - Boone has brought the Yankees to expected heights during the regular season. It is difficult to categorize his postseason as failures because of the circumstances. In 2018, the Yankees lost in the ALDS to the Red Sox. It came out after the fact that the Red Sox had been using video replay to relay signs. In 2019, the Yankees lost in the ALCS against the Astros. The MLB came out and said they found no wrongdoing, but Altuve's actions are more than suspicious. Last year, may have been Boone's best managing. At one point, the Yankees injured list consisted of Judge, Stanton, LeMahieu, Britton, Kahnle, Torres, and Paxton. This year could be a huge year in determining whether Boone is in the Bronx for the future.

#6: Rays - Kevin Cash

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 454-416

Explained - What Cash has done in Tampa Bay is remarkable. Unfortunately for him, he'll be remembered for taking Blake Snell out in game 6 of the World Series. If anything it's the analytics that should be blamed for that decision. Numbers show how the success of a batter increases against a pitcher after seeing them a third time through the lineup. I've always wondered if Cash's move to pull Snell is directly related to Grady Little's decision to keep Pedro Martinez in game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. That decision blew up in Little's face, and he was subsequently fired by management for contradicting the analytics.

#5: Braves - Brian Snitker

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 353-317

Explained - Snitker is a Braves man through and through. He was given an opportunity as interim manager in the middle of the 2016 season. The Braves rewarded his loyalty and named him the permanent manager heading into the 2017 season. It's not a coincidence the team became more competitive once this happened. Had the Braves won the seventh game of the 2020 NLCS series against the Dodgers it's fair to assume Snitker would be more of a household name.

#4: Dodgers - Dave Roberts

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 436-274

Explained - Roberts is a winner. He proved this during his time as a player. Prior to Roberts, the Dodgers hadn't won the National League pennant since 1988. He has been the manager of the Dodgers since 2016 and won three pennant titles in that time. He capped off the most recent pennant with a World Series championship. Talent is rightly attributed to the Dodgers success, but Roberts guidance shouldn't be overlooked.

#3: Red Sox - Alex Cora

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 192-132

Explained - Cora has proven to be a great player manager. His involvement in the sign stealing scandal muddies the water, but he has served his punishment and will prove his value to the Red Sox. We saw last season what his absence meant to the team.

#2: Brewers - Craig Counsell

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 434-412

Explained - Counsell has guided the Brewers to three straight postseason appearances. Prior to his arrival, the Brewers had made the postseason twice between 1983 and 2017. Counsell and the Brewers came within a game of capturing the NL pennant in 2018. They lost to a more talented team, but he helped put Milwaukee on the map as a free agent destination.

#1: Cleveland - Terry Francona

Regular Season MLB Managerial Record: 1,702-1,434

Explained - Francona helped end the Curse of the Bambino by winning Boston's first title in 85-years. He came within a game away from ending Cleveland's (then) 67-year drought. Had he won that game he may have statues at both stadiums. Regardless, Francona is one of the best and most beloved managers of all-time. The only blemish on his resume is the 2011 Red Sox collapse. It's hard to pin that on Francona when his veteran players were drinking beer, eating fast-food fried chicken, and playing video games in the clubhouse during games. If he stayed with Boston how many championships would he have won?