Fiery Manager Was Obsessed with Winning

It’s been 40 years since Earl Weaver managed a major league baseball team, but the fiery genius left an indelible impression upon the game, the players and the fans. Author John W. Miller refers to Weaver as The Last Manager because data analysis and free agency have shifted control to general managers and the players. Managers are no longer the dominant forces as they were in Weaver’s day.

Weaver was obsessed with finding the winning edge, bringing out the best in each player and tweaking baseball to see where it would go. His intensity (he said his epitaph should read: “here lies the sorest loser ever”) was always geared toward winning. It’s what bonded him with his players, despite his many disagreements with Jim Palmer, Rick Dempsey and others. Players also respected Weaver because he was a straight shooter. His golden rule was: No promises to any one and no lies.

Weaver invented new ways of building baseball teams. He prioritized high on-base percentage, elite defense and throwing strikes. Later, he added the three-run homer to mantra.

Weaver was the first manager to use the radar gun and was a pioneer in using data to create the most effective lineups. He was decades ahead of his time.

Thomas Boswell of The Washington Post wrote, “Earl was open to new data, changing trends, new insights into his players or even how to play the game. In other words, though he wouldn’t claim it, he was an original thinker.”

All these traits led to an impressive managerial career that includes 11 seasons of 90 wins or more. From 1968 to 1982, not including the strike-shortened 1981 season, Weaver averaged 97 wins.

Author John W. Miller provides great insights into Weaver and particularly his minor league career. Weaver was a much better minor league player than most people remember him as. He would probably have made the 1952 St. Cardinals as a 21-year-old back-up second baseman, if manager Eddie Stanky hadn’t taken that position for himself. Weaver never recovered from the heartache and disappointment.

Miller covers Weaver’s influences growing up, the relationships with his wives and children and his drinking. He delivers a full picture of Weaver.

When Weaver was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Boswell wrote, “No manager belongs there more. Weaver encapsulated the fire, the humor, the childishness, the wisdom and the goofy fun of baseball.”

Author Miller spent five years researching and writing this biography, and it shows. He visited many of the places where Earl played and managed, interviewed his three children and his widow, Marianne, and talked to many of his former players, as well as three umpires.

This book should be a delicious, satisfying treat for most every baseball fan.