Rotation?
Probably for some portions of a season, but never for a full season. The A’s didn’t really go to a four-man rotation until after he retired.
Did He Use the Entire Staff, or Did He Try to Get Five or Six People to Do Most of the Work?
He got as much as he could out of his top pitchers.
How Long Would He Stay with a Starting Pitcher Who Was Struggling?
In a crucial game, not long at all. Early in the season, a long way.
What Was His Strongest Point As a Manager?
See “ Mack’s Marks .”
If There Was No Professional Baseball, What Would He Probably Have Done with His Life?
He would have become manager of the shoe factory in Brookfield, Massachusettes, where he worked as a youth.
C ONNIE M ACK ’ S All-Star Team
Decade Snapshot: 1920s
Most Successful Managers:
1. Miller Huggins
2. John McGraw
3. Bill McKechnie
Most Controversial Manager: Rogers Hornsby
Others of Note:
Donie Bush
Bucky Harris
Wilbert Robinson
Tris Speaker
Stunts: Judge Emil Fuchs was the owner of the Boston Braves in the late 1920s. He had once been a night magistrate in New York City, and had been the biggest investor in a syndicate formed around Christy Mathewson. When Mathewson died, Fuchs took over as the acting partner.
In 1929 Fuchs, who had never played baseball well enough to talk about, named himself to manage the team. Amazingly, the perennial losers started out 10–2. “Why don’t you quit now?” asked a reporter. “You’re leading the league.”
“I will,” said Fuchs. “I want to hire a new manager on this next road trip.” He offered the job to Rabbit Maranville, but Maranville, who had managed the Brooklyn Dodgers several years earlier and had gotten released as a player for his troubles, didn’t want to have anything to do with it, so Fuchs continued to sit in the manager’s chair.
As a practical matter, Johnny Evers ran the team that summer. Fuchs held the title of manager, but Evers made out the lineups, and made essentially all of the in-game decisions. They finished with 98 losses.
As a consequence of this and other fiascos, the leagues eventually passed a bylaw prohibiting owners from managing their teams.
Typical Manager Was: A second-or third-generation Ned Hanlon disciple with a baritone voice and the volume cranked permanently on high.
Percentage of Playing Managers: 24%
Most Second-Guessed Manager’s Move: 1925, Bucky Harris left Walter Johnson in the seventh game of the World Series to fritter away leads of 4–0, 6–3, and 7–6, ultimately losing 9–7. American League president Ban Johnson joined in the witch hunt, sending Harris a telegram denouncing the committment to Walter as “sentimental,” and adding that “sentiment has no place in a World Series.”
Clever Moves: 1924, Bucky Harris started Curly Ogden in Game Seven of the 1924 World Series (see “ Beard ”).
1929, Connie Mack started Howard Ehmke in Game One of the World Series
Bloodlines
Connie Mack and John McGraw were both the sons of Irish immigrants.
Both were close friends of George M. Cohan, who could be described as the Mike Nichols of his era. Cohan started as a songwriter, and grew to be the biggest fish on Broadway. Cohan and Mack were childhood friends in Brookfield, Massachusettes. Cohan and McGraw were both members of the Lambs, a the-atrical men’s club.
Mack married Margaret Hogan on November 2, 1887; she died in 1893, and he remarried in 1910. McGraw married Minnie Doyle on February 3, 1897; she died in 1899, and he remarried in 1902.
Player Rebellions: 1926, Pittsburgh; see “ The Clarke Affaire .”
Evolutions in Strategy: Babe Ruth changed everything. The number of runs scored per game in the major leagues increased from 3.59 in 1917 to 5.19 in 1929, while the number of home runs per game quadrupled. Sacrifice bunts per game dropped precipitously (we don’t know exactly how much because of a wrinkle in the record-keeping), and stolen bases per game decreased by about 50%.
Platooning,
Probably for some portions of a season, but never for a full season. The A’s didn’t really go to a four-man rotation until after he retired.
Did He Use the Entire Staff, or Did He Try to Get Five or Six People to Do Most of the Work?
He got as much as he could out of his top pitchers.
How Long Would He Stay with a Starting Pitcher Who Was Struggling?
In a crucial game, not long at all. Early in the season, a long way.
What Was His Strongest Point As a Manager?
See “ Mack’s Marks .”
If There Was No Professional Baseball, What Would He Probably Have Done with His Life?
He would have become manager of the shoe factory in Brookfield, Massachusettes, where he worked as a youth.
C ONNIE M ACK ’ S All-Star Team
Decade Snapshot: 1920s
Most Successful Managers:
1. Miller Huggins
2. John McGraw
3. Bill McKechnie
Most Controversial Manager: Rogers Hornsby
Others of Note:
Donie Bush
Bucky Harris
Wilbert Robinson
Tris Speaker
Stunts: Judge Emil Fuchs was the owner of the Boston Braves in the late 1920s. He had once been a night magistrate in New York City, and had been the biggest investor in a syndicate formed around Christy Mathewson. When Mathewson died, Fuchs took over as the acting partner.
In 1929 Fuchs, who had never played baseball well enough to talk about, named himself to manage the team. Amazingly, the perennial losers started out 10–2. “Why don’t you quit now?” asked a reporter. “You’re leading the league.”
“I will,” said Fuchs. “I want to hire a new manager on this next road trip.” He offered the job to Rabbit Maranville, but Maranville, who had managed the Brooklyn Dodgers several years earlier and had gotten released as a player for his troubles, didn’t want to have anything to do with it, so Fuchs continued to sit in the manager’s chair.
As a practical matter, Johnny Evers ran the team that summer. Fuchs held the title of manager, but Evers made out the lineups, and made essentially all of the in-game decisions. They finished with 98 losses.
As a consequence of this and other fiascos, the leagues eventually passed a bylaw prohibiting owners from managing their teams.
Typical Manager Was: A second-or third-generation Ned Hanlon disciple with a baritone voice and the volume cranked permanently on high.
Percentage of Playing Managers: 24%
Most Second-Guessed Manager’s Move: 1925, Bucky Harris left Walter Johnson in the seventh game of the World Series to fritter away leads of 4–0, 6–3, and 7–6, ultimately losing 9–7. American League president Ban Johnson joined in the witch hunt, sending Harris a telegram denouncing the committment to Walter as “sentimental,” and adding that “sentiment has no place in a World Series.”
Clever Moves: 1924, Bucky Harris started Curly Ogden in Game Seven of the 1924 World Series (see “ Beard ”).
1929, Connie Mack started Howard Ehmke in Game One of the World Series
Bloodlines
Connie Mack and John McGraw were both the sons of Irish immigrants.
Both were close friends of George M. Cohan, who could be described as the Mike Nichols of his era. Cohan started as a songwriter, and grew to be the biggest fish on Broadway. Cohan and Mack were childhood friends in Brookfield, Massachusettes. Cohan and McGraw were both members of the Lambs, a the-atrical men’s club.
Mack married Margaret Hogan on November 2, 1887; she died in 1893, and he remarried in 1910. McGraw married Minnie Doyle on February 3, 1897; she died in 1899, and he remarried in 1902.
Player Rebellions: 1926, Pittsburgh; see “ The Clarke Affaire .”
Evolutions in Strategy: Babe Ruth changed everything. The number of runs scored per game in the major leagues increased from 3.59 in 1917 to 5.19 in 1929, while the number of home runs per game quadrupled. Sacrifice bunts per game dropped precipitously (we don’t know exactly how much because of a wrinkle in the record-keeping), and stolen bases per game decreased by about 50%.
Platooning,
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