Joe Girardi, manager of the New York Yankees since 2008, began his major league baseball career as a catcher in 1989 with the Chicago Cubs. He played for the Cubs for four seasons before moving to the Colorado Rockies in 1993. Three years later, Girardi was traded to the New York Yankees, serving as their regular catcher through four seasons, including through three World Series (1996, 1998, 1999).
Joe Maddon has had a long career in baseball but almost all of that time has been in the minor leagues. He was a catcher for minor league teams and afterwards served in various positions with the LA Angels organization. He served as interim manager of the Angels in 1996 and 1999. The team's win-loss records under Maddon's leadership were 8-14 in 1996 and 19-10 in 1999.
Terry Francona, the Cleveland Indians new manager, grew up in a baseball family, with a father who played major league baseball for the first 11 years of Terry's life. He followed in his father's footsteps and played baseball in high school and college. He was drafted in 1980 by the Montreal Expos and a year later was playing in the major leagues.
Buck Showalter, manager of the Baltimore Orioles since 2010, did the seemingly impossible last year, leading the Orioles to a Wild Card win in the American League. Prior to last season, the Orioles had been one of the worst teams in the American League, finishing in last place of the AL East division from 2008 through 2011. For the 10 years before that, the Orioles had finished with a win percentage under .500. Last year, they ended up in second place in the AL East with a win percentage of .574 (93 wins, 69 losses).
John Farrell, this year's new manager of the Boston Red Sox, started his major league baseball career as a pitcher in 1987. He played for three teams (Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers) with fair results. His statistics as a player include a 36-46 record, .439 win percentage, 4.56 ERA, and 355 strikeouts to 250 walks in 116 games with 698.2 innings pitched.
Jim Leyland, manager of the Detroit Tigers, is, at age 68, one of the oldest managers in major league baseball today. He also has one of the longest tenures as a manager, with 21 years of experience managing four teams (Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers).
John Gibbons, the 2013 manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, had a very short and limited career as a baseball catcher, playing in only 18 games for the New York Mets in 1984 and 1986. He did not return to major league baseball until 2002 when he was hired to be the first base coach for the Blue Jays. Two years later, he started his first stint as manager of the Toronto team. He lasted in that role until he was fired in June, 2008.
Like many other major league managers, Ned Yost, manager of the Kansas City Royals, began his major league career as a catcher. He had a short, not particularly good player career, playing from 1980 through 1983 with the Milwaukee Brewers and then a year with the Texas Rangers, finishing his career after the 1985 season with the Montreal Expos. In those six years, Yost had a batting average of just .212.
Ron Gardenhire, manager of the Minnesota Twins since 2002, has one of the longest tenures of active managers in major league baseball. He started his major league career as a player with the New York Mets in 1981. Although he played for the Mets for five years, he was often sidelined by injuries.
If Robin Ventura's first year as a major league manager is an indicator of his future success, his career as a manager may prove to be as successful as his career as a major league baseball player. Last year, he managed the Chicago White Sox to a second place finish in the AL Central division, just a few games behind the leading Detroit Tigers, with an 85-77 record and a .525 win percentage.