Philadelphia Phillies general manager Matt Klentak acknowledged Monday that the team only interviewed three candidates for their managerial vacancy before ultimately hiring Joe Girardi. While he didn’t say who the other two candidates were, they’ve been widely reported to be Dusty Baker and Buck Showalter.
When asked at Girardi’s introductory press conference why the Phillies only interviewed candidates with extensive managerial experience in this search, Klentak began by discussing Pete Mackanin, the manager he inherited when he was named general manager in October of 2015.
“The best way I can answer that is to kind of trace back a few years.