Very few fans undertake a pilgrimage to Cooperstown in honor of a manager.
The Hall of Fame’s drawing cards are the 270 players enshrined in its plaque gallery. The other honorees — the 40 executives, the 10 umpires, and yes, the 22 managers — simply don’t inspire the same level of public affection.
A case could be made that managers don’t belong in the gallery at all — something I contend in my book, Cooperstown at the Crossroads — but that’s not to deny the excellence of most of the inductees.
Twelve of the hall’s 22 managers won at least five league pennants apiece, led by John McGraw and Casey Stengel with 10 each. Five of those same managers emerged victorious from four or more World Series, topped by Stengel and Joe McCarthy with identical totals of seven world championships.
Those, we can all agree, are outstanding records.
But a few of Cooperstown’s managerial inductions have been head-scratchers. I’m here today to question four of them:
Wilbert Robinson (whose managerial career spanned from 1902 to 1931) had been a solid catcher for the Baltimore Orioles in the 1890s, but his selection was tied specifically to the 18 seasons he spent at the helm of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The committee ignored his unimpressive managerial record — 1,399 wins against 1,398 losses (just one game above .500) with no World Series titles — and indulged its fond memories of the easygoing rascal known to one and all as Uncle Robbie. “His conversation was a continuous flow of homely philosophy, baseball lore, and good humor,” baseball writer John Kieran happily recalled.
Bucky Harris (1924-1956) had two factors in his favor. He had always been popular with his players — “if you can’t play for Bucky, you don’t belong in the major leagues,” said Joe DiMaggio — and he had won world titles with the Washington Senators in 1924 and the New York Yankees in 1947. But Harris was much more familiar with defeat than victory. Less than a third of the clubs he managed — nine of 29 — finished higher than fifth place. His career winning percentage was a run-of-the-mill .493.
Billy Southworth (1929-1951) managed the St. Louis Cardinals to a pair of world titles, yet both came during World War II, when the level of competition was diluted. Southworth’s regular-season victory total (1,044) is still the lowest for any American or National League manager in the hall. The others all had more than 1,280 wins.
October 20, 1982, was a critical day in the life of Whitey Herzog (1973-1990). His Cardinals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in Game Seven of the World Series that evening, giving Herzog the only world title of his career. If the Cards had lost on October 20, it’s difficult to imagine him making it to Cooperstown. Herzog finished his tenure only 156 games above .500. Fifteen of the other 21 Hall of Fame managers did better.
Scroll below to see statistical breakdowns for these four marginal inductees. And follow these links to read previous stories about Tommy McCarthy and Freddie Lindstrom, two players whose Cooperstown credentials are very, very thin.
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HOF box score: Wilbert Robinson
Managerial career: 1902-1931
Teams: Baltimore (American League), Brooklyn (National League)
Career record: W-L 1,399-1,398 (.500)
Post season record: 2 pennants, 0 world titles
Selected to HOF: 1945
Selected by: Old-Timers Committee
HOF box score: Bucky Harris
Managerial career: 1924-1956
Teams: Boston (American League), Detroit (AL), New York (AL), Philadelphia (National League), Washington (AL)
Career record: W-L 2,158-2,219 (.493)
Post season record: 3 pennants, 2 world titles
Selected to HOF: 1975
Selected by: Veterans Committee
HOF box score: Billy Southworth
Managerial career: 1929-1951
Teams: Boston (National League), St. Louis (NL)
Career record: W-L 1,044-704 (.597)
Post season record: 4 pennants, 2 world titles
Selected to HOF: 2008
Selected by: Veterans Committee
HOF box score: Whitey Herzog
Managerial career: 1973-1990
Teams: California (American League), Kansas City (AL), St. Louis (National League), Texas (AL)
Career record: W-L 1,281-1,125 (.532)
Post season record: 3 pennants, 1 world title
Selected to HOF: 2010
Selected by: Veterans Committee