The Twins have named Paul Molitor as their next field manager. The question is whether or not Molitor can enjoy the kind of success and lengthy run that both Tom Kelly (15 seasons) and Ron Gardenhire (13) did.
Molitor is far and away the better player of the group. Kelly played just 49 games in the major leagues, Gardenhire 285. Molitor enjoyed a 21-year Hall of Fame career, played in nearly 2700 games and was named World Series MVP in 1993. Great players have struggled to make the conversion to manager, though. The question is, why?
I can tell you from experience that two of the best managers I ever had, and I had 39 over the course of my career, never played in the Major Leagues. They were Buck Showalter and current Seattle Mariners bench coach Trent Jewett.
The issue with great players trying to manage is that it requires a completely different skill set than playing the game. Communication, more now than ever, is critical to managing a baseball team. Running a bullpen might be the rarest skill and, again in this generation, is more essential in 2015 than ever. Handling the media can be tricky as well, and handing the keys over to your players, having no control over performance on the field can be frustrating for any manager, but especially for one who was so consistent as a player.
You hear so often about a manager "losing his clubhouse," and that can be an issue too. When you judge a manager, one thing to ask yourself is "has he gotten the most out of his team?" Have they under-performed, over-performed or played to about what we should have expected?
Those questions might tell you whether or not a manager has the respect of his players and if he can keep a team motivated. The biggest challenge for great players who become managers is that they sometimes have a difficult time understanding failure. Most players aren't great major leagues.
This will be Paul Molitor's test. He's never managed before at any level. His demeanor and humility tells us he might be up for the task, but only time will tell.
