Baseball Toaster Mike's Baseball Rants
Help
This is my site with my opinions, but I hope that, like Irish Spring, you like it, too.
Frozen Toast
Search
Google Search
Web
Toaster
Mike's Baseball Rants
Archives

2009
01 

2008
10  09  07 
06  05  04  03 

2007
12  11  10  09  08  07 
06  05  04  03  02  01 

2006
12  11  10  09  08  07 
06  05  04  03  02  01 

2005
12  11  10  09  08  07 
06  05  04  03  02  01 

2004
12  11  10  09  08  07 
06  05  04  03  02  01 

2003
12  11  10  09  08  07 
06  05  04  03  02  01 

2002
12  11  10  09  08  07 
Links to MBBR
Bragan Rights
2005-08-17 21:57
by Mike Carminati

In one of the oddest moves to garner some cheap press since the Phils employed "Rocket Man", the Fort Worth Cats of the independent Central League allowed former major-league manager Bobby Bragan guest manage—what was Joan Rivers busy?—in order to wrest the title of oldest professional manager away from the still-dead hands of Hall of Famer Connie Mack. He bested Mack by eight days. And you thought Minnie Minoso and Aerosmith had a unlikely comebacks.

The 87-year-old Bragan didn't even last the whole game. He got himself kicked out of the game for arguing balls and strikes in the third and wound up in the stands signing autographs.

I like how the article stomps all over Mack's legacy:

He had no trouble holding his job even though the A's were a poor team in his later years in the dugout. Mack also owned the team.

It's like that NY Lottery commercial that's been running this season in which a manager is forced to answer questions about his bumbling third baseman who it turns out bought the team after, of course, winning the lottery. Mack, as some sort of antediluvian Pete Rose, inserted himself in the dugout as the manager long after he had passed his usefulness as one, right?

Well, Mack spent his last 19 years without winning a World Series or so much as a pennant, but he did have winners in three of the last four seasons. I don't think anyone could have better managed some of those post-1931 A's teams. Then again, Mack had no one but himself to blame for continually dismantling the team.

The comment about Mack did make me wonder if managers lose their effectiveness as they age, and I thought a quickie but extremely large table was in order. I looked up the total record by age for all managers. Here's what I found:

AgeGWLPCT Avg Exp
N/A 21259101172.437 1.71
20562332.418 1.00
2122022.000 1.00
2219080110.421 1.00
23381189184.507 1.09
24687278390.416 1.38
25883485389.555 1.69
261940924981.485 1.70
27213011001000.524 2.16
28334217201575.522 2.91
29375418781810.509 3.12
30522326642473.519 3.02
31534428182438.536 3.59
32671434683130.526 3.68
33858042574189.504 3.40
34932144534730.485 3.67
35936245854680.495 4.05
361056452765168.505 4.27
371004848715084.489 4.51
381235060686174.496 4.44
391274263366280.502 5.18
401108955825416.508 5.26
411374266966945.491 5.32
421484473267423.497 5.88
431668381678415.493 5.34
441710083648643.492 5.71
451783587139030.491 6.26
461638980838244.495 6.70
471477772197491.491 6.81
481379969596796.506 7.64
491444371927208.499 8.34
501291464086479.497 9.26
511218560746067.500 9.53
521145858875544.515 10.32
531084855045317.509 11.23
54930446604620.502 12.63
55798739274035.493 13.05
56705534603581.491 15.35
57643433133106.516 15.48
58568728942782.510 16.88
59465223842260.513 17.73
60397619352036.487 16.49
61309916451447.532 20.20
62253213931132.552 21.00
6320761105967.533 23.07
64203910281007.505 22.07
651527792731.520 21.60
661191640546.540 23.70
671304693610.532 28.60
681030571456.556 26.50
69634367265.581 26.75
701527972.523 40.00
71314108202.348 35.00
72435184251.423 34.33
73479189288.396 35.33
7421670144.327 38.00
751545399.349 45.00
76622537.403 46.00
7715454100.351 47.00
781546490.416 48.00
791545599.357 49.00
8015549105.318 50.00
811557282.468 51.00
821535298.347 52.00
8315549105.318 53.00
841567876.506 54.00
851548470.545 55.00
861548173.526 56.00
8715452102.338 57.00

Now, here are the top ten ages by winning percentage (the 85 is Connie Mack's third to last season):

AgeGWLPCT Avg Exp
69634367265.581 26.75
681030571456.556 26.50
25883485389.555 1.69
62253213931132.552 21.00
851548470.545 55.00
661191640546.540 23.70
31534428182438.536 3.59
6320761105967.533 23.07
61309916451447.532 20.20
671304693610.532 28.60

It seems that sexagenarian managers are the best. Would that we all could peak at that age.

Comments
2005-08-18 07:17:02
1.   Mike from Hoboken
The really surprising thing here, to me, is that Bobby Bragan is STILL ALIVE.
2005-08-18 08:11:48
2.   Bob Timmermann
As is Al Lopez.
2005-08-18 09:00:26
3.   Mike Carminati
Davey Johnson, too. I wonder what "Rocket Man" is up to.
2005-08-18 11:10:50
4.   Bob Timmermann
Only Elton John knows what happened to "Rocket Man".
2005-08-19 05:15:28
5.   rbj
Did Connie Mack go fishing for half a year when he was 76? Only 62 game? Unless he was sick for that year.
2005-08-19 05:48:34
6.   Mike Carminati
RBJ,

His son and assistant manager, Earle Mack, took over for a large portion of 1939 (and had an earlier stint in 1937). I'm not sure of the circumstances.

Comment status: comments have been closed. Baseball Toaster is now out of business.