Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in North American professional
baseball. Founded in 1869, it is composed of 30
teams.[1] Each team in the league has a
manager, who is responsible for team strategy and leadership on and off the field.[2] Assisted by various
coaches, the manager sets the
line-up and
starting pitcher before each game, and makes substitutions throughout the game. In early
baseball history, it was not uncommon for players to serve as
player-managers; that is, they managed the team while still being signed to play for the club. In the history of MLB, there have been 221 player-managers, 59 of whom are in the
National Baseball Hall of Fame.[3][needs update]
The dual role of player-manager was formerly a common practice, dating back to
John Clapp, who performed the task for the
Middletown Mansfields in 1872. One reason for this is that by hiring a player as a manager, the team could save money by paying only one salary.[4][5] Also, popular players were named player-managers in an effort to boost game attendance.[6]Babe Ruth left the
New York Yankees when they refused to allow him to become player-manager.[7] Five of the eight
National League (NL) managers in 1934 were also players.[8]Connie Mack,
John McGraw, and
Joe Torre, among the all-time leaders in
managerial wins, made their managerial debuts as player-managers.[3] At least one man served as a player-manager in every major league season from Clapp's debut through 1955.
Today, player-managers have become rare in baseball.
Pete Rose is the most recent player-manager, serving from 1984 through 1986 with the
Cincinnati Reds. Whereas some player-managers, such as
Lou Boudreau, were full-time players as player-managers, by the time Rose became player-manager, he was a part-time player.[9] Rose was trying to prolong his career to break the all-time
hit record set by
Ty Cobb, and Reds owner
Marge Schott used this as a marketing ploy.[10] Rose removed himself from the 40-man roster after the 1986 season to make room for
Pat Pacillo, unofficially retiring as a player, but remained as the Reds manager until he was
banned from baseball following the release of the
Dowd Report in 1989.
One criticism of the practice holds that the manager has enough to be preoccupied with during a game without playing.[11] With specialized
bullpens, extensive scouting reports, and increased media scrutiny, the job of a manager has become more complex.[3] A player-manager needs to decide how much playing time to give himself.[12]Don Kessinger, player-manager of the
Chicago White Sox in 1979, believes he did not play himself enough.[3] Additionally,
Bill Terry felt he became isolated from his team when he became a player-manager.[13]
^"Manager: Definition | Dictionary.com". Dictionary.Reference.com. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 2006. Retrieved December 29, 2008.