MLB: Four Managers on the Hot Seat Early in the Season
By Anthony Sosa
Nothing can put a manager on the hot seat quicker than a rough start to begin the season. Here are six MLB managers that need some wins to avoid the ax.
Just 20 games into the MLB season and managers are already sitting on the hot seat. Plenty of teams are off to a bad start in 2017, but that doesn’t mean all of those skippers are on the hot seat.
To get on the hot seat, a coach must have a collection of struggles in previous seasons or just not be producing wins with a good set of players.
For example, the Arizona Diamondbacks entered the 2016 season with high expectations after acquiring Shelby Miller from the Atlanta Braves and signing Zack Greinke in free agency. The talent possessed by Arizona didn’t result in wins and the Diamondbacks finished fourth in the NL West with a 69-93 record. Thus, the Diamondbacks fired their manager Chip Hale in the offseason.
The only other manager fired since the start of the 2016 season was the Braves’ former manager Fredi Gonzalez. A rough start in the 2016 season resulted in Gonzalez losing his job.
It’s worth noting that two other managers that coached in 2016 are no longer managers in 2017. Both the Chicago White Sox’s former manager Robin Ventura and the Colorado Rockies’ former manager Walt Weiss resigned after the 2016 seasons.
Managers rarely get fired in the middle of a season, but it can happen (like Gonzalez last year). If these six managers don’t turn their teams around soon, they could find themselves looking for a job next season.