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November 15, 2011 11-12 Offseason Joe Janish

Mike Matheny New Cardinals Manager

In case you hadn’t heard, the Cardinals chose Mike Matheny as their new manager, replacing the legendary Tony LaRussa.

Matheny makes the second managerial hiring this fall of someone with zero managerial experience; he joins former Met Robin Ventura, who was hired by the White Sox.

About a year ago, when the Mets were considering managerial candidates, the team passed on both Tim Teufel and Wally Backman — and many in the blogosphere pointed out inexperience as a major reason why the former platoon partners were unsuited for the Major League dugout.

I’m curious — what is your take on the value of MLB (or any) managerial experience? (Mine is here: Managerial Experience: Does it Matter?.) Do you think it’s vital for someone to have experience in a dugout before managing a big-league team? What’s your thought on the hirings of Ventura and Matheny? How can a reigning World Series champion get away with hiring a neophyte?

Post your thoughts in the comments.

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. NormE November 15, 2011 at 4:23 pm
    As a wise man pointed out back in 2010, “manager-picking is something of a crapshoot.”
    Guys who’ve succeeded in one spot have failed in another and vice-versa.
    You have to pick a good character guy who is baseball smart and people smart. Communication skills along with common sense are required.
    Respect is something that he will have to earn.
    Prior experience doesn’t prove he will have any of the above.
  2. MikeT November 15, 2011 at 5:10 pm
    I don’t think it is absolutely vital, but it certainly would help. If a guy tries his hand in the minor leagues and flames out completely then it was good he found out before getting hired as a manager in the bigs.