Player-manager

From BR Bullpen

Player-Managers serve both roles at the same time (player and manager). In the 19th Century, most teams had captains who served as the field manager. Eventually, more teams gave the role to a player who was retired, or to a team executive. The last player-manager, or playing manager, was Pete Rose in 1986. Paul Molitor was briefly considered a candidate as player-manager in 1998.

Famous player-managers include Lou Boudreau, who did it for 10 years and won the 1948 World Series, and Frankie Frisch, who did it for 5 years and won the 1934 World Series.

Other players, such as Ted Williams, were both players and managers, but never player-managers.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Fred Stein: And the Skipper Bats Cleanup: A History of the Baseball Player-Manager, with 42 Biographies of Men Who Filled the Dual Role, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2002.