"When Stephen Vogt started managing the Guardians last year, it appeared to be a one-off. A former Braves catcher taking a manager role without much in the way of coaching experience, just briefly removed from his playing days (Vogt's final season as an MLB player was just two years prior)? Who'd think that'd happen again. But now, Kurt Suzuki's been named the next manager of the Angels, and we've got, if not a trend, at least a pair."
"Suzuki last suited up as a player in 2022, and he's been a special assistant to Perry Minasian since. Kind of convenient to be a special assistant to the guy that eventually decides whether or not he'll hire you as his team's next manager, I guess. Anyway, who's next? Tyler Flowers is around and hasn't done non-baseball things since retirement."
"Brian McCann was around long enough that it's possible. A.J. Pierzynski would, I think, be an utter disaster (managers are supposed to mediate issues, not cause them), but he is also a name on this list of former Braves catchers. Wasn't Jonathan Lucroy a Brave for five minutes? (And hey, it's not like there wasn't earlier precedent. Joe Torre was a Braves' catcher before he was much of anything else, after all.)"
Kurt Suzuki has been named manager of the Angels after last playing in 2022 and serving as a special assistant to GM Perry Minasian. Stephen Vogt previously moved from catching to managing the Guardians after a short gap from his playing career, creating a similar recent example. Suzuki's special-assistant role under Minasian positioned him close to the decision-maker responsible for the hire. Other former catchers mentioned as possible managerial candidates include Tyler Flowers, Brian McCann, A.J. Pierzynski and Jonathan Lucroy. Pierzynski is described as potentially problematic because managers need to mediate conflicts rather than provoke them. Joe Torre was once a Braves catcher before developing into a manager, providing earlier precedent.
Read at www.batterypower.com
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