Bench Coaches — Baseball Bench Coach

MLB has given us an exciting first week of playoff baseball. The ALCS and NLCS matchups will be decided early this week. There are though 20 teams that missed the playoffs, and seven of those have announced managerial openings (Cubs, Giants, Mets, Padres, and Pirates in the NL; Angels and Royals in the AL), the most recent one created this past Thursday with the dismissal of the Mets’ second-year manager, Mickey Calloway. The status of the Phillies’ manager, Gabe Kapler, another 2018 hire, remains unclear. The quick changeovers in command are an alarming trend. On opening day 2020, Craig Counsell of the Brewers will be the longest tenured NL manager, 5 years on the job!

Who is best qualified to fill a manager position? Many baseball executives point to “experience” as a significant factor. And how do you get that experience? It’s not always being a former manager, but often bench coaches are on top of the interview list. You know the ones; experienced baseball guys who have been the right hand and sounding board to successful managers on defensive alignments, lineup changes, and pitcher vs. batter matchups. They are being groomed to be the next one up, but often that next open slot is not with their current team. Some of baseball’s great managers today started as a bench coach. Indeed, 2 of the last 3 World Series Champions were managed by former bench coaches.

In 2018 the Red Sox captured the World Series trophy behind their manager, Alex Cora. When Boston was looking to replace John Farrell at the end of the 2017 season, they turned to the 2017 champions, the Houston Astros, and their bench coach, Cora, who was under the tutelage of manager A.J. Hinch. Cora’s story is not a unique one for a bench coach. His 11-year playing career was solid but not spectacular, an infielder with six MLB teams. Cora’s study of the game and spirited personality landed him a post-playing gig as an ESPN analyst before his coaching career was launched under Hinch. In Boston Cora became the fifth manager in baseball history to win the World Series in his first year.

The Cubs ended their 108-year drought in 2016 behind the mastery of another former bench coach, Joe Maddon. In Maddon’s playing days he was a minor league catcher in the Angels organization, never advancing higher than Class A ball. He worked his way up the Angels chain for 31 years, serving as a scout, roving minor league hitting instructor, minor league manager, and bench coach for managers John McNamara, Terry Collins, and the talented skipper, Mike Scioscia. As bench coach for Scioscia (2000-2005), the duo led the Angels to the World Championship in 2002. Maddon soon became the main man in Tampa (2006-2014), leading the Rays in 2008 to their only AL pennant. In announcing Maddon’s recent departure from the Cubs after their best 5 years in franchise history, President Theo Epstein mused that there will be a “bidding war” for Maddon’s services. It would be fitting to see Joe Maddon land in the Angels dugout, this time #1 in command.

Terry Francona is another former bench coach with big-time accomplishments. While his Indians fell short in the ’16 Series, Francona of course ended the Red Sox franchise misery in 2004 when he guided Boston to the World Championship. He followed that with another Series win for the Red Sox in 2007. Francona was a journeyman player, a 10-year career with 5 MLB teams (1981-1990), highlighted by his early playing days with the Expos. He quickly went into coaching, serving in the White Sox organization for five years before getting his big league shot as the third base coach for the Tigers in 1996. Francona immediately jumped into the manager hot seat as he helmed the Phillies over the next four years, albeit unsuccessfully. In 2002 and 2003, Francona served as the bench coach for the Rangers and A’s. Since his return to the top of the dugout steps in 2004, he has been recognized as one of the best strategists in the game.

When Francona was matching wits with Maddon in the 2016 World Series, Maddon had a little help, his bench coach, Dave Martinez. Martinez was more than capable as an MLB outfielder and platoon player, a .276 lifetime batting average with 9 teams (Cubs twice) over 16 seasons. When his playing days were over, he nestled into the coaching arena and soon became one of baseball’s most trusted bench coaches. Martinez served Maddon in that capacity for ten seasons (2008-2014, Tampa; and 2015-2017, Chicago). Martinez got his break in 2018 when he was named the manager of the Nationals. His Washington team recovered from some first half duldrums this season to land the first NL Wild Card slot. In the Wild Card matchup with the Brewers, Martinez called on Stephen Strasburg in a game-changing relief role as the Nationals came back and won a thriller.

An AL pennant contender has a top managerial candidate as its current bench coach, Joe Espada of the Houston Astros. Much like Maddon, Espada never made an MLB major league roster, struggling as a player in the minor leagues for ten seasons. His entry to the majors was as a third base coach, first with the Marlins and most recently for the Yankees (2015-2017) under Joe Girardi. After Cora left for Boston, A.J. Hinch pried Espada away from the Yanks. Espada has been the Houston bench coach for the past two seasons. As the playoffs continue through October, we might find some teams wishing for an early Astros exit so that they might chat with Espada about a managerial opening. Rumors have been swirling in Chicago and New York that Espada might be high on the list for the Cubs and Mets jobs.

The Cubs have indicated that Mark Loretta, the Chicago bench coach this past season, interviewed for their top spot this past week. Loretta began his 16-year MLB playing career with the Brewers in 1995, and played on four other teams (Astros, Padres, Red Sox and Dodgers). He had his career best year in 2004 with the Padres -- .335 batting average, 16 HRs, 76 RBIs and 208 hits, along with a place on the NL All-Star team. Loretta returned to the All-Star Game in 2006, this time representing the Red Sox as the starting AL second baseman. Loretta’s post-playing days have taken a different twist than most. He served as a special assistant in the Padres organization from 2010 to 2018 before landing the Cubs bench coach job in 2019. Watch for Loretta’s name to also come up in the Padres’ managerial search in the next few weeks.

Interviews for the 2020 open manager slots will heat up this week. The teams have a talented pool of interested candidates, including a couple not so ordinary Joe’s who have already reached the pinnacle of baseball success, Girardi and Maddon. Watch for those unique ties to an organization or a city to play a part in the searches. And maybe, just maybe, one or more of the 2020 managerial openings will go to a first-time manager, an experienced bench coach.

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach