With Spring Training right around the corner, the buzz is building over the upcoming 2015 season. With much of the past three months focused on the big name acquisitions, it's easy to lose sight of one of the most important aspects of a team - the manager.
Managerial decisions can make-or-break a team, regardless of talent, so it's important not to overlook them. Some managers do it better than others though, making them an invaluable part of the success on the field.
Taking into account recent success, roster talent vs. 0n-field performance and managerial intangibles, here are the top five managers in baseball heading into this season:
1) Bruce Bochy (Giants)
It's tough to argue with Bochy's status as the top manager in the game right now. Say what you want about his work during the regular season (where he's still gone a solid 667-629 with San Francisco), but Bochy is head and shoulders above opposing managers when it comes to the postseason.
To date, Bochy has gone 10-0 (including a one-game playoff win) in postseason series over his last three appearances in October. In total, Bochy owns a .708 postseason win percentage with San Francisco, and adding his World Series appearance in 1998 with San Diego, has appeared in four World Series, winning three of them. He is headed to the Hall of Fame when it's all said and done.
2) Mike Matheny (Cardinals)
Next on the list is the man who can't seem to beat Bochy, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. Matheny had a few things working against him when he became Cardinals manager following the 2011 season. With no managerial experience, Matheny was taking over for the legendary Tony LaRussa, just as 11-year slugger Albert Pujols bolted for Los Angeles. Despite the transition, Matheny hasn't missed a beat and has quickly ascended to one of the top managers in the game.
Matheny has led the Cardinals to three consecutive National League Championship appearances and one World Series appearance in his first three years at the helm. During that time, St. Louis has a .566 regular season win percentage, including back-to-back 90 win seasons.
3) Joe Maddon (Cubs)
Maddon makes this list because of all the work he's done in Tampa Bay, but Mr. Maddon will be taking over Chicago heading into 2015. In nine seasons with the Rays, Maddon tinkered his way to 574 wins, doing so with unconventional shifts and a plethora of swiss army knife type players at his disposal.
His .517 win percentage in Tampa is misleading because he took over a terrible Rays team, losing 197 games his first two years. After that, Maddon led the Rays to six consecutive winning seasons, including a worst-to-first AL pennant run in 2008, and five 90+ win seasons. Now in Chicago, Maddon will lead a Cubs team that looks primed to jump into contending status in 2015.
4) Joe Girardi (Yankees)
Yet another former catcher, Joe Girardi makes this list despite coming off his worst managerial year in New York. Girardi works with the most talented roster of any manager on this list, and while that knocks him down a bit when you consider the elevated expectations for the Yankees, he still delivers results.
Girardi led New York to a World Series victory in his second year as manager in 2009, winning 103 games that year. The Yankees have a .571 win percentage in seven seasons under Girardi, including four straight 95+ win seasons between 2009-12'. Managing the Alex Rodriguez circus isn't an easy thing to do, but Girardi has handled the New York spotlight quite well.
5) Bob Melvin (Athletics)
2014's second half collapse aside, Bob Melvin has certainly done enough to warrant his spot among the game's top managers. Despite annually working with a team that looks short of talent on paper, Melvin has gotten the absolute most out of his roster since taking over midway through 2011.
In three full seasons in Oakland, Melvin has led the A's to three straight playoff appearances - including two AL West titles. Just like Bochy's playoff performance boosts his status, Melvin's struggles in October keep him a notch below the elite managers of the game. Still, with a payroll a fraction the size of most of Oakland's competitors, Melvin has led the A's to a .556 win percentage since taking over in Oakland. If he takes a team that just lost Josh Donaldson, Jon Lester and Jeff Samardzija to the playoffs this year, no one is going to be surprised.
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