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Who was Connie Mack?

He is only the manager with the most wins of all time with 3,731 from 1894-1896, 1901-1950! He was a player/manager for the Pittsburg Pirates from 1894-1896 and then with the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League from 1901-1950 for a total of 53 seasons. When you manage one team for as long as he did you are going to experience good and bad years. The more seasons you manage, the more difficult it will be to end your career with a winning record. This is true with Connie Mack as he had a .486 winning percentage due to his 3,948 losses. In those 50 years in Philadelphia he had 10 seasons with 100 or more losses! But he also had 5 seasons of 100 or more wins while managing 9 pennant winning teams with 5 World Series titles. The only manager that comes close to Connie Mack was John McGraw with 2,763 wins (both are Hall of Fame Managers) and the closest active manager to them is Tony LaRussa with 2,638.

It is these all time leading marks that have inclined the members of the BBA to name the award for the best NL manager for 2010 after Mr. Connie Mack (who was nicknamed “The Tall Tactician”).

My 2010 NL Manager of the Year Prediction

Honorable Mentions: Bud Black, San Diego Padres and Bobby Cox, Atlanta Braves (in his final season)

3. Bruce Bochy, San Francisco Giants

His team ended the regular season in a tight race going down to the last game of the season and ended with a 92-70 (.568) record. His team was not thought of to win their division at the start of the season then their GM brought in players like OFs Cody Ross (FLA) and Pat Burrell (waivers), INF Mike Fontenot (Cubs) and RP Ramon Ramirez (BOS). They also agreed to trade newly re-signed C Benji Molina to Texas in order to make way for rookie of the year candidate C Buster Posey.

2. Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia Phillies

What’s amazing about their season is not their Major League leading record 97-65 (.599), but rather that it was done despite probably the second most injuries of any other Major League team (my guestimate would have the Red Sox as the most injured team of 2010). During the 2010 season the Phillies had the following players with injuries: Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins (on again, off again), Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz, Placido Polanco, Chad Durbin, Jamie Moyer, Brad Lidge, JC Romero, Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ and Ryan Madson. Wow! He would have come in first, but the Phillies were favored to win the NL East and with the addition of Roy Oswalt, that further solidified that thought given how they stuck around amid all of those injuries.

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1. Dusty Baker, Cincinnati Reds
The Reds were not suppose to finish ahead of the likes of the Cardinal or the Cubs and many thought that without their young Ace Edinson Volquez, who was out due to Tommy John surgery until mid-season at the earliest, might even place behind the Brewers. Yet they finished with a 91-71 record due in part to their NL leading offense led by MVP candidate 1B Joey Votto. He eaked out 91 wins out of a starting rotation that featured rookie Mike Leake who never saw an inning of minor league play until his rehab assignment after being placed on the DL late in the season after being reassigned to the bullpen in order to limit his innings.

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3 — Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox (95-67)……………………..1 point

Without a legitimate SS for most of the year, with neither Penny nor Smoltz working out, the David Ortiz difficulties for the first 49 games of the season and the shutting down of Matsuzaka for the better part of the year, it’s amazing the Sox were still Wild Card winners. Francona has continually found a way to keep his players loose, focused and hungry throughout a 162 game season.

2 — Ron Washington, Texas Rangers (87-75)…………………….3 points

I honestly don’t know if this vote should go to Washington or team president and Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan as the change in pitching philosophy and NOT their once potent offense is what turned this team around. They have changed how pitchers train, letting them throw more and I personally hope that it catches on. I’m tired of how pitchers are babied and i hope it overflows into their use of the bullpen, too. It was only their second winning season in the past 10 years, the other was in 2004.

1 — Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angel of Anaheim (97-65)……5 points

Angels Manager Mike Scoscia

I have two words for you…Nick Adenhart! How many teams recover from this sort of tragedy, let alone win their division with 97 wins? This was Scioscia’s 10 season managing the Angels and in that time he has proven to be an excellent manager as most catchers are in my opinion. In those 10 seasons he has managed the Angels to 90 wins or more six times hitting 100 wins last year (2008). And this year he didn’t have his typical bullpen or closer. Scot Shields was either ineffective or hurt and Fuentes is no K-Rod or Percival either. He normally excels in strategy and use of his pitching staff, especially his bullpen corps.