While the debate over the lack of black head coaches in college football continues and the number of black head coaches in the NFL remains stagnant, the steroids/human growth hormone controversy has seen baseball escape as much managerial scrutiny.
Currently, there are three black managers in Major League Baseball.
They are Ron Washington of the Texas Rangers, Willie Randolph with the New York Mets and Dusty Baker of the Cincinnati Reds. Baseball’s black population is about 8.5 percent and its black managerial ratio is actually higher at about 10 percent.
What is disturbing about the three black managers is that two of them could easily be in their final season.
Let’s start with Randolph.
The Mets were the class of the National League East for most of the season. But when the going got rough, the Mets broke down, offensively, defensively and mentally. Randolph probably had his poorest month of managing in September.
Until the 2007 Mets, no team with a seven-game lead with 17 games remaining was unable to finish in first.
Remember, Randolph’s decision making in the 2006 NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals was scrutinized not only by the media, but his own players.
“When we lost to the Cardinals (in the 2006 NL Championship Series), it was a bitter disappointment. It broke our hearts, but what happened to us (in 2007) makes you sick to your stomach,” reliever Billy Wagner, whose disappointing season is a major reason why Randolph’s job status is tenuous, told MLB.com.
After the Philadelphia Phillies won the division and blame for the Mets’ debacle was placed on Randolph’s shoulders.
If the Mets fail to reach the World Series, watch for Randolph to be out of a job.
Washington brought energy and enthusiasm into the season, but his team brought a rickety starting rotation. The result was MLB’s worst team start. Washington rallied his troops after the All-Star Game, but could only muster a 75-87 record and in last place in the American League West.
A repeat of 2007’s performance for any reason, including injuries, will most likely cost Washington his job.
As for Baker, he inherits a team that was just 72-90 in 2007 and thankful for the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates in the N.L. Central.
The Reds named Baker as manager on Oct. 14. He brings a 1,162-1,041 career record to Cincinnati, is a three-time National League Manager of the Year and reached the World Series with San Francisco.
“Hopefully we can have that championship ticker-tape parade,” he said the day of his hiring.
“That’s what I really need. I need it badly.”
Baker might get that championship, but it won’t be until next year. He is signed through 2010 and it might take every one of those years to even reach the postseason.
This trio of black managers enters the 2008 season with much on the line. While Baker will certainly survive to see another season, Washington and Randolph are squarely on the hot seat.
And three could become one by this time next year.
