Many people, including a lot of White Sox fans, were puzzled when GM Kenny Williams announced last week that he was hiring former Sox third baseman Robin Ventura as the team's new manager, even though Ventura had zero experience as a professional coaching or manager.
Before Hiring Robin Ventura, Kenny Williams Considered Paul Konerko For Player-Manager. No, Really.
Today, Williams dropped another shocker during the news conference formally introducing Ventura (and his three-year contract) when he revealed that he considered naming first baseman Paul Konerko as player-manager:
“That report is not false,” Williams said Tuesday after Ventura was formally announced.
“It was considered long enough for me to realize that Paul is a very cerebral person and he would probably drive himself nuts right now playing and managing at the same time,” Williams said when asked how seriously he considered Konerko.
Well. Since 1970, only four men have held the position of "player-manager". When Frank Robinson became baseball's first African-American manager in 1975, he played himself in 85 games (all but three at DH) in his first two seasons. Joe Torre took the reins of the Mets 46 games into the 1977 season; he was nearing the end of his playing career anyway and played just twice before quitting as a player. In 1979, Don Kessinger managed himself as a player for 56 of the 106 games he managed the White Sox before they fired him; he never managed or played again. And Pete Rose managed the Reds for more than two seasons while he was still an active player; they had some success, but that ended badly for other reasons.
Could a player-manager be successful today? It doesn’t seem likely, with the demands placed on modern managers by management, players and media. Rose was the last one, and that was 25 years ago. Williams said more about Konerko, coming to his senses:
“But that’s the kind of respect I have for him that, yeah, I did consider it. Then I thought I think I would rather him be focused more on hitting third or fourth in the lineup and driving in 100 runs rather than trying to worry about 25 other guys in addition to it. We are trying to win.”
Paul Konerko is a fine player and beloved by White Sox fans. Perhaps he'll get into coaching or managing when he retires. In the meantime, Robin Ventura has a big job ahead of him; with his lack of experience in the job, Williams should surround him with a good coaching staff.
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