Terry Collins, manager of the New York Mets, never played baseball in the major leagues. After playing baseball in college, in 1971, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates and sent to the minor leagues, where he played for 10 years for both the Pirates and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Walt Weiss has his first managerial position this year as the new manager of the Colorado Rockies. Although Weiss was first drafted as a player in 1982 by the Baltimore Orioles, he decided to pursue a college education instead. Three years later, he was drafted by the Oakland Athletics and he made his major league debut with them in September, 1987. After an AL Rookie of the Year first full year in 1988, Weiss continued as the Athletics shortstop until he was traded to the Seattle Mariners following the 1992 season.
Mike Redmond, the new manager of the newly named Miami Marlins, is, at age of 41, the second youngest manager in the major leagues. Prior to being named manager of the Marlins, Redmond managed for two years in the minor leagues and he had a 13 year career as a major league catcher.
Bob Melvin, manager of the Oakland Athletics since 2011, was awarded last year's American League Manager of the Year honors for his role in leading the Athletics to a surprising first place finish in the American League West division. Prior to taking on the job of manager of the Athletics, Melvin had served as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Seattle Mariners.
Bruce Bochy, manager of the San Francisco Giants since 2007, started his major league baseball career as a catcher. After playing baseball in high school and college, Bochy was drafted by the Houston Astros in 1975. He played for the Astros from 1978 through 1980. He followed that with a year with the New York Mets (1982) and five years with the San Diego Padres (1983-1987). Bochy ended his playing career with a .239 batting average.
Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies since 2005, is, at age 69, the second oldest manager in major league baseball today. Although he played baseball in high school and then was drafted by the Minnesota Twins, Manuel played in very few games in the major leagues. He played in the majors for just six years, first with the Twins from 1969 through 1972 and then in only 19 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1974 and 1975. He never played in more than 83 games in any season and he ended his career with just a .198 batting average.
Kirk Gibson, Manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, had a long and successful career as a player before becoming a manager. He was as an all-American football player in college before playing baseball. In one year of college baseball, in just 48 games, Gibson has a .390 batting average, 16 home runs, and 52 RBIs. That record resulted in his being drafted by the Detroit Tigers.
Dusty Baker, manager of the Cincinnati Reds, is another manager who had a successful career as a player first. Baker was an outfielder for 19 years with four teams (Atlanta Braves, 1968-1975; Los Angeles Dodgers, 1976-1983; San Francisco Giants, 1984; Oakland Athletics, 1985-1986). He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1967 while he was still in high school and he started playing with them the following year.
Davey Johnson, manager of the Washington Nationals, is, at age 70, the oldest manager in major league baseball today. He started in major league baseball as a player who had a stellar career, winning three gold gloves over a 13 year career. After playing college baseball for a year, Johnson was signed in 1962 by the Baltimore Orioles. He started his professional career in the minor leagues, staying there from 1962 to 1965. In 1965, he made his major league debut, playing in 20 games for the Orioles. As a second baseman, Johnson played for four teams: Baltimore Orioles, 1965-1972; Atlanta Braves, 1973-1975; Philadelphia Phillies, 1977-1978; Chicago Cubs, 1978.
Clint Hurdle, manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates since 2011, started his major league career as a player. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1975 and played with them from 1977 through 1981. He moved to the Cincinnati Reds in 1982 but stayed only one year with them. Hurdle played with the New York Mets for three seasons (1983, 1985, 1987), with a stint with the St. Louis Cardinals (1986) in between his Mets years. Hurdle played in over 60 games in only two seasons (1978, 1980) and he ended his career of 10 years having played in only 515 games with a batting average of .259. He fared better in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League when he played there from 1977 to 1979 and again in 1983.