Managers don’t get talked about enough in baseball. They don’t hit flashy home runs, make incredible diving catches, or even score fantasy points. However, being a manager at the major-league level requires acute awareness and critical decision-making at all times. It’s the manager who fills out the lineup card, makes the calls to the bullpen, and, ultimately, sets the tone for the entire team.
At the end of last year, Major League Baseball saw some decorated managers move on or retire. Dusty Baker retired following a 26-year managing career that saw him earn three pennants and one World Series title, Terry Francona also retired following a 23-year managing career where he won three pennants and two World Series titles, and Buck Showalter was fired after a two-year stint with the New York Mets and a managerial career that goes back to 1992.
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While several managing legends have recently exited the game, there are still many skippers out there that plenty of teams would love to have as their own. Let’s look at the top managers in MLB with some honorable mentions added at the end.
1. Bruce Bochy
Bochy made history last year by becoming one of six managers in the history of MLB to win four World Series titles. He guided the Giants to three championships (2010, 2012, 2014) over his 13 seasons as San Fransisco’s manager. After retiring in 2019, Bochy returned to MLB in 2023 and guided the Texas Rangers to their first-ever World Series title in just his first year with the team.
Most World Series Titles By Manager
Based on this resume, it’s hard not to say Bochy is the best manager in MLB right now. However he is second to only the Los Angeles Angels‘ Ron Washington in age amongst managers, and there are several other skippers out there on the rise.
2. Kevin Cash
Cash is widely regarded as one of the best managers in the MLB when you factor in his team’s success and restrictive payroll. Despite the Tampa Bay Rays being limited on cash (pun intended), this team has had a winning record in each of the last six seasons. In Cash’s nine seasons with Tampa, he won two AL Manager of the Year awards in 2020 and 2021 after finishing third in voting the two years prior.
Lowest 2024 Team Payrolls
3. Bob Melvin
Having been the Oakland A’s manager for 11 years, Melvin knows how to manage a team on a budget (see graph above). During that tenure in Oakland, he led the A’s to the top of the AL West in 2012, 2013, and 2020. He also earned AL Manager of the Year honors in 2007, 2012, and 2018. He then went on to manage the San Diego Padres in 2022 where he led the Friars to the NL Championship Series as a wild card. Despite having one year left on his contract with San Diego, friction with the Padres’ front office led Melvin to head north to the Bay Area to manage the San Fransisco Giants for 2024. San Francisco’s offseason additions of Matt Chapman and Jorge Soler to their lineup, as well as Robbie Ray and Blake Snell to their starting rotation, should give Melvin plenty of weapons to compete at a high level.
4. Torey Lovullo
Following his team’s trip to the World Series last season despite the odds being stacked against them, Lovullo earned a spot as one of the top managers in MLB. It’s been an up-and-down experience for the D’backs since he took over in 2017, with Arizona finishing last in the NL West twice, but also finishing second three times, including an NL pennant last year. Playing in arguably the toughest division in MLB (although the AL East would like a word), Lovullo has proven that he can lead his team deep into October despite the odds.
Odds To Win 2023 World Series On June 1
5. Dave Roberts
Expectations are high when managing a team like the Dodgers, and those expectations should be even higher this season with everyone labeling L.A. a super-team. Since joining the Dodgers in 2016, Roberts has led his team to an incredible .630 winning percentage, two National League pennants, and a World Series championship, albeit a 60-game season one in 2020. He was also voted NL Manager of the Year in 2016. The Dodgers put all their chips in the middle this offseason, so matching those expectations this year should amount to a lot of pressure for Roberts.
Honorable Mention
Brian Snitker: Having a seemingly unlimited array of weapons at his disposal, Snitker has led Atlanta to six NL East titles in a row and a World Series championship in 2021. Don’t get me wrong, he just barely missed the cut.
Craig Counsell: This will be Counsell’s first year managing the Chicago Cubs. During his nine-year career managing in Milwaukee, he led the Brewers to two NL Central titles, but could never quite close in on a World Series visit.
Alex Cora: Winning the 2018 World Series with the Boston Red Sox, Cora started off his managing career in the best possible way. However, Cora does have an ugly suspension on his resume in 2020 for his role in the 2017 Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, and he hasn’t done all that much to inspire hope for Boston fans over the last few years.
A.J. Hinch: Speaking of the Astros scandal, Hinch’s managing legacy will always be tainted by the sign-stealing from the 2017 season. He was the manager in Houston that year and also missed the 2020 season due to suspension and being fired. That being said, Hinch has done a respectable job leading a rebuilding Detroit Tigers team over the last three years, and there is reason to be optimistic about this young team.
Brandon Hyde: Having won AL Manager of the Year honors last season, Hyde’s Baltimore Orioles look like a prime candidate to lead the AL East for years to come. Baltimore had the best record in the AL last year (101-61), but ultimately got swept by Texas in the playoffs.
Aaron Boone: Boone has a .585 winning percentage as the New York Yankees‘ skipper since he joined in 2018. While that sounds nice, managing the Yankees comes with extremely high expectations and New York hasn’t made it past the AL Championship Series in any of those years. He has yet to win an AL Manager of the Year award.