The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are members of the National League (NL) East division in Major League Baseball (MLB). Since the franchise started as the Boston Red Stockings (no relationship to the current Boston Red Sox team) in 1871, the team has changed its name several times and relocated twice. The Braves were a charter member of the NL in 1876 as the Boston Red Caps, and are one of the NL's two remaining charter franchises (the other being the Chicago Cubs).[1] In baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager, or more formally, the field manager. The duties of the team manager include team strategy and leadership on and off the field.[2][3] The Braves franchise has employed 45 managers.[4]
The franchise's first manager was Hall of FamerHarry Wright, who managed the team for eleven seasons.[5]Frank Selee was the next manager to have managed the team for eleven seasons, with a total of twelve with the formerly named Boston Beaneaters.[6] The formerly named Boston Braves made their first postseason appearance under George Stallings in 1914, winning the World Series that year.[7] Several other managers spent long tenures with the Braves. Bill McKechnie managed the Braves from 1930 to 1937, while Casey Stengel managed the team from 1938 to 1942.[8][9] The franchise was known as the Boston Bees from 1936 to 1940, and was again named the Boston Braves until 1952. Stengel also managed the Braves in 1943.[9]
From 1943 to 1989, no managerial term lasted as long as five complete seasons. The Braves were managed by Billy Southworth from 1946 to 1949, and again from 1950 to 1951. Southworth led the team into the 1948 World Series, which ended the Braves' 34-year postseason drought; the World Series ended in a losing result for the Braves. In 1953, the team moved from Boston to Milwaukee, where it was known as the Milwaukee Braves. Its first manager in Milwaukee was Charlie Grimm, who managed the team from mid-season of 1952 to mid-season of 1956. Fred Haney took over the managerial position after Grimm, and led the team to the World Series in 1957, defeating the New York Yankees in a game seven to win the series.[10]
In 1966, the team moved from Milwaukee to its current location, Atlanta. Its first manager in Atlanta was Bobby Bragan, who managed the team for three seasons earlier in Milwaukee. Lum Harris was the first manager to have managed the team in Atlanta for more than four seasons. Harris led the team into the NL Championship Series (NLCS) in 1969, but failed to advance into the World Series. Joe Torre was the next manager to manage the Braves into the postseason, but like Harris, led the team into the NLCS with a losing result.[10]Bobby Cox was the manager of the Braves from 1990 till 2010. Under his leadership the Braves made the postseason 15 times, winning five National League championships and one World Series title in 1995.[11] Cox has the most regular season wins, regular season losses, postseason appearances, postseason wins and postseason losses of any Braves manager.[4] He was named NL Manager of the Year three times, in 1991, 2004 and 2005.[12]
After Cox retired upon the conclusion of the 2010 season, Fredi González was hired to take over as manager.
Several managers have had multiple tenures with the Braves. John Morrill served three terms in the 1880s as the Braves manager, while Fred Tenney, Stengel, Bob Coleman, Southworth, Dave Bristol and Cox each served two terms. Ted Turner and Vern Benson's term each lasted only a single game, as they were both interim managers between Bristol's tenures.
Table key
Years
the corresponding Major League Baseball season
WPct
Winning percentage: number of wins divided by number of games managed
PA
Postseason appearances: number of years this manager has led the franchise to the postseason
PW
Postseason wins: number of wins this manager has accrued in the postseason
PL
Postseason losses: number of losses this manager has accrued in the postseason
Pen
Pennants: number of pennants (league championships) won by the manager
WS
World Series: number of World Series victories achieved by the manager
a#: A running total of the number of Braves' managers. Thus, any manager who has two or more separate terms is only counted once.
Related Research Articles
In Major League Baseball, the Manager of the Year Award is an honor given annually since 1983 to two outstanding managers, one each in the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner is voted on by 30 members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). Each submits a vote for first, second, and third place among the managers of each league.[a] The manager with the highest score in each league wins the award.
Joseph Paul Torre Jr. is an American professional baseball executive and former player, manager, and television color commentator. He has served as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseball officer from 2011 to 2020. Torre ranks fifth all-time in MLB history with 2,326 wins as a manager. With 2,342 hits during his playing career, Torre is the only major leaguer to achieve both 2,000 hits as a player and 2,000 wins as a manager. From 1996 to 2007, he was the manager of the New York Yankees, and guided the team to six American League (AL) pennants and four World Series championships.
Robert Joe Cox is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Cox played for the New York Yankees and managed the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays. He is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He recorded a 100-win season six times, a record matched only by Joe McCarthy.
William Harold Southworth was an American outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player in 1913 and 1915 and from 1918 to 1929 for five big-league teams, Southworth took part in almost 1,200 games, fell just short of 1,300 hits and batted .297 lifetime. Southworth managed in 1929 and from 1940 through 1951. He oversaw three pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals teams, winning two World Series, and another pennant with the Boston Braves, the last National League title in Boston baseball history. As manager of the Cardinals, his .642 winning percentage is the second-highest in franchise history and the highest since 1900.
Fredi Jesús González is a Cuban-born American baseball coach and manager who is currently the bench coach for the Baltimore Orioles. He managed the Florida Marlins from 2007 to 2010 and the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2016. González was fired from both managing positions. For four seasons prior to 2007, he was the third base coach for the Atlanta Braves. Despite never reaching the playoffs with Florida, González nearly led the Braves to a playoff berth in his first season as manager in 2011. He then guided the Braves to the postseason in 2012 and 2013.
↑ "Manager: Definition | Dictionary.com". Dictionary.Reference.com. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 2006. Archived from the original on 2014-06-14. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
↑ Dickson, P. (2009). The Dickson Baseball Dictionary (Thirded.). W.W. Norton & Co. p.530. ISBN978-0-393-06681-4.
Formerly the Boston Red Stockings, Boston Red Caps, Boston Beaneaters, Boston Doves, Boston Rustlers, Boston Bees, Boston Braves and the Milwaukee Braves
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