BBA Connie Mack Awards - General Chapter Ballot

<div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The General Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance is one of the largest chapters in the alliance. And most of the chapter took part in the first two of our awards, The <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mackco01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mackco01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Connie Mack</a></strong><span style="font-size: small;"> Award for the best manager of the year in each of the American and National Leagues and the </span><strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mayswi01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mayswi01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Willie Mays</a></strong><span style="font-size: small;"> Award for the best rookies in each league. Each member of the General Chapter voted a top three for each award. Those results were weighted with the most points going for a first place vote and then tabulated for the official chapter ballot which will go toward allowing the BBA as a whole to select this year's recipients. First up is the </span><strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mackco01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mackco01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Connie Mack</a></strong><span style="font-size: small;"> Award.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As several of our chapter members observed, picking the best manager each season is a slippery slope. Ultimately, it is the players who play and either perform or do not. For example, <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bochybr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bochybr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Bruce Bochy</a></strong> seems to be on the every other year plan of success. Was he all that great when he won World Series titles in 2010 and 2012 and then stunk in 2011 and 2013? Is he back to being great in 2014?</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Interestingly, Bochy has not won the baseball writers' version of this award since 1996 when he took the Padres to a first place division win in San Diego. Two years later (even then it was every other year), he won the National League Pennant and took his Padres to the World Series and did not win any awards.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have written here several times that judging a manager seems impossible. You can't go by results. You cannot go by hearsay. You cannot even go by whether he was fired or not. One of our chapter members obstained because of this difficulty.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But the rest of our writers muddled through and picked a top three in each league.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;"><strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">National League:</span></strong></em></div><ol style="line-height: 1.5; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 24px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><li style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hurdlcl01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hurdlcl01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Clint Hurdle</a></strong> - 330 pts</span></li><li style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bochybr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bochybr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Bruce Bochy</a></strong> - 290 pits</span></li><li style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=willima04,willima09,willima03,willia011mat,willia015mat&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=willima04,willima09,willima03,willia011mat,willia015mat&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Matt Williams</a></strong> - 180 pts</span></li></ol><div style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bochy received more first place vote but Hurdle was listed on more ballots to just overcome Bochy's total. Other managers receiving votes in order of finish: <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mathemi01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mathemi01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Mike Matheny</a></strong>, <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mattido01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mattido01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Don Mattingly</a></strong>, <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/collite99.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/collite99.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Terry Collins</a></strong>, <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/roeniro01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/roeniro01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Ron Roenicke</a>, Bud Black </strong> and <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/renteri01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/renteri01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Rick Renteria</a></strong>.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;"><strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">American League:</span></strong></em></div><ol style="line-height: 1.5; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 24px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><li style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/showabu99.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/showabu99.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Buck Showalter</a></strong> - 470 pts</span></li><li style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sciosmi01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sciosmi01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Mike Scioscia</a></strong> - 300 pts</span></li><li style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcclell01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcclell01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Lloyd McClendon</a></strong> 160 pts</span></li></ol><div style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was not close in the American League. Showalter had the most first place votes and was on the most ballots. Other AL managers getting votes in order of their finish: <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/yostne01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/yostne01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Ned Yost</a></strong>, <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/ausmubr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/ausmubr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Brad Ausmus</a></strong>, <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/girarjo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/girarjo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Joe Girardi</a></strong>, <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/francte01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/francte01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Terry Francona</a></strong> and <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/melvibo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/melvibo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Bob Melvin</a></strong>.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Much thanks to all the writers for participating in this process.</span></div></div>

BBA Connie Mack Awards - General Chapter Ballot

The General Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance is one of the largest chapters in the alliance. And most of the chapter took part in t...

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Buck Showalter feature

Buck Showalter was the topic and the cover story written by your favorite Fan for this month's issue of <i><a href="http://www.bigleaguesmonthly.com/" target="_blank">Big Leagues Monthly</a></i>. Check out some thoughts on the remaking of Showalter's image and read a lot of other great articles in 60+ pages of pure baseball bliss.

Buck Showalter feature

Buck Showalter was the topic and the cover story written by your favorite Fan for this month's issue of Big Leagues Monthly . Check out ...

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Maddon versus Showalter

<div style="text-align: justify;">How do you rank managers? That problem has perplexed this site for years now. And answering the question seems no closer now than it ever has. You cannot go by a team's winning percentage. That is a product of so many different things: front office, injuries, player performance, competition, etc. The Pythagorean win/loss record has been attempted here with mixed results. And yet, despite our total lack of ability to get a handle on this simple question, we make subjective choices all the time. The ultimate subjective choice is the Manager of the Year Award. This year will go to either Oakland's manager or Baltimore's in the American League. But how do we know those team's success rate is because of their managers? We don't, really.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pondering this question for the umpteenth time led to the comparison of Buck Showalter to Joe Maddon. Maddon has won two Manager of the Year Awards in the past three seasons. Showalter has also won two in his career. Both manage in the American League East. And both have gone head to head often this season with the late results going mostly to the Orioles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you were to ask baseball fans, and probably even experts to rank the managers in the AL East, the subjective rank would probably go something like: 1) Maddon, 2) Showalter 3) and 4) Girardi and Farrell interchangeably and 5) Valentine. To be sure, that subjective ranking might not be fair to any of those managers. Again, so much of their team's success or failure is out of their hands on a day to day basis.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Joe Maddon is the wunderkind in most people's minds. He is constantly in the news for his funky decisions, cool team happenings, popcorn in the dugout and allowing himself to be pied during a national interview. His Elton John-like glasses and cool hair styles cement the image. He is hip, man. Totally. And, of course, there is his known embrace of analytic data and how he runs his team during games. He and his organization are always put on top of that snap analytic ranking. And sometimes, from this biased perspective (aren't all perspectives on baseball biased?), Maddon embraces the genius role and relishes it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In contrast, Buck Showalter has always seemed like the stodgier, more conservative and older acting manager. He seems old school. He doesn't seem to care about numbers. He doesn't seem to care about how he is perceived. Showalter is not on Twitter. He's a part of the past, man.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And yet, here they are, both competing for the pennant and the wild card with the Orioles currently holding the edge and tied with the Yankees for the division lead. Does that make Showalter a better manager? Who knows!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here is one thing that will shock the crap out of you. Buck Showalter is two years younger than Joe Maddon. Do you believe that!? It seems like Showalter is ten years older at least. That means that Maddon is at least winning the cool factor race. Showalter and your favorite Fan are the same age. Much more hipness is happening here, man.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Maddon seems to be like Napoleon when walking into Waterloo when it comes to Showalter. And the same thing seemed to happen when Maddon faced Davey Johnson earlier in the season. By appearances, these two old-school cats are more than a match for Maddon. But does that count? Should it? Again, a lot depends on the players, the luck, everything.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Maddon's team has a far better run differential. Is that good or bad? Showalter has an amazing record in one-run games and extra inning games. Does that make him better? Despite having the best closer in the AL this season, the Rays are below .500 in both one-run games and extra-inning games. Is that a knock on Maddon?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The O's have a better record against the Red Sox and Yankees than the Rays. Edge Showalter? Both have almost the exact same career win-loss records (right around the .513 mark). Showalter has shown himself to have a higher degree of humor with his players than originally perceived. His efforts with his clubhouse aren't as loud as the Rays, but seem just as effective. His players do nothing but rave about him. So no real edge can be given there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Maddon is given universal credit for turning around a moribund Tampa franchise. But Showalter has turned around the Diamondbacks and Yankees in 2000 and 1995 respectively before turning this Baltimore franchise around. And you really can't assign all the credit to either manager for those situations. The realities are much more complex than the perceptions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, we are about a thousand words into this thing and we aren't getting anywhere. And that perhaps is the entire point. The perception here is that these two managers are the best in the AL East if not in the entire AL. The slight edge here goes to Showalter. But that doesn't mean a dang thing because it is just one man's view and there is nothing concrete to pin the matter down. And it means just as little for this personal perspective to state that either one would be preferable to Girardi.</div>

Maddon versus Showalter

How do you rank managers? That problem has perplexed this site for years now. And answering the question seems no closer now than it ever ha...

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Replay, Bud. Replay

<div style="text-align: justify;">Buck Showalter had every reason to be red in the face at the the <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2012_08_17_balmlb_detmlb_1&mode=video" target="_blank">call reversal</a> that occurred in the sixth inning of the Baltimore Orioles game against the Tigers. And Major League Baseball should be red in the face too...with embarrassment. The original call by the first base umpire was correct. Mark Reynolds kept his foot on the bag on the throw from Manny Machado to get Peralta on a very nice play. The first base umpire, Jeff Kellogg got the call correctly. But after the Tigers' manager argued, Kellogg asked for help and got the wrong kind of help. Too bad Kellogg couldn't have asked for a replay. But we do not have replay in Major League Baseball.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is an important series between two contending teams. The Orioles held a 3-1 lead in the game. The outcome of such an important game should not be determined by a bad call. And then the Orioles lose Mark Reynolds for the rest of the game because he knew he kept his foot on the bag and was justifiably upset the call was reversed. Reynolds and Showalter will be fined, of which the proceeds should go to a replay fund to end this madness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fielder would go on to hit a game-tying homer because of the outcome of this play. He might have hit the homer anyway, but that would have made the score only, 3-2 instead of a tie game. And the Tigers might have won the game anyway, but that is not the point. The point is that a play on the field should be called correctly and we have the technology to do that. So why not stop talking about it, Mr. Selig, and make it so?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mark Reynolds might have been able to hit his own homer later in the game. We'll never know. What is known is that the replay clearly showed that Reynolds made a terrific play to keep his foot on the bag while stretching out to short hop the throw into his glove in time to beat the runner. Such a beautiful play should be rewarded. Reynolds' only reward was to get thrown out of the game.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">These things simply should not happen. Say you like the human element if you are an old school poopface. But the only human element that should happen in a game of baseball should be what the players do on the field and whether they succeed or fail. Their successes shouldn't be taken away by the fallibility of umpires--not when we have the technology to fix it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even if you are glad the Tigers won, you can't feel good about a win coming on such an egregious situation. Fix this, Bud Selig, because it is getting really, really old.</div>

Replay, Bud. Replay

Buck Showalter had every reason to be red in the face at the the call reversal that occurred in the sixth inning of the Baltimore Orioles g...

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