Rambling On About My Glory Days: Head Shaking Managerial Move #1

Being around the game for a number of years, I’ve seen some questionable managerial moves. Two that stand out in my memory occurred in the same game and by the same manager. There was no post game interview with the manager so we will never know his thought process on these moves and I cannot even guess what he was thinking. Here is how the first one went down.

The game was tight and tense. It was tied in the seventh inning when the opposing team’s pitcher was beginning to tire. Their bullpen was active, and after walking a batter, out pops their manager from the dugout. After walking about halfway to the mound he stops and stares down to the pen and gets the reassurance that the reliever is ready. He proceeds to the mound and gestures to the pen, whereupon a reliever starts towards the mound. The manger starts waving “no†towards the pen, and then the other pitcher who had been warming up starts his trek into the game.

Wait a minute, the manager is shaking his head some more and still gesturing to the pen and waving off that pitcher. Everyone is now confused as the umpire is getting impatient. With the manager still pointing it becomes apparent that he does not want either pitcher, but wants to change catchers. Yes, he makes a catching change and not a pitching change. This does not go off real well as the current game catcher who had gone back behind home plate is flabbergasted. He begins to take off his gear at home plate and starts chucking his equipment, piece by piece all over the place, to the roar of the crowd. To be continued:

Just when you think you have seen everything in the game of baseball, something happens that makes you shake your head and realize how much you love this game.

Former major leaguer Jack Perconte is the author of The Making of a Hitter (http://jackperconte.com) and has a baseball instruction site that can be found at www.baseballcoachingtips.net. He has recently published his second book Raising an Athlete – How to Instill Confidence, Build Skills and Inspire a Love of Sport