Pete Walker is...
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I remember about 6 or 7 years ago a TERBchair quarterback was saying how bad Walker was as a coach because his pitching career was mediocre.
Counsellor, I can assure you that it was not I.I think it was you!!!!
Perry
I recall pointing out, that the best coaches in almost all sports are the guys that were not stars. The guys with lesser talents have to work hard and study to keep their jobs. They are the true students of the game. A guy like Gretz was a lousy coach. He had natural talent. Glen Sather, a mucker, was a much better coach than 99.
I'll admit I wasn't a big Pete Walker fan in the beginning but since then he's matured into a helluva coach. What convinced me was his work with J.A. Happ.
And you're absolutely correct your success as a coach has no relation to how much success you had as a player.
If I recall correctly Ted Williams was deemed a terrible manager with the Washington Senators.
Best manager I ever saw was Billy Martin. A mediocre player, albeit great World Series player, for some great Yankee teams.
Problem was Billy liked to drink and his expiry date came quickly. But his short term results were something to behold.
Walker was a pitcher who made the most of his limited talents while a player. And he seems to make the most of every pitcher under his tutelage as well.
Hopefully free agent pitchers will want to come here and learn from him. Maybe that's a reach in this mercenary era we live in but Jays fans can hope.
Best manager I ever saw was Billy Martin. A mediocre player, albeit great World Series player, for some great Yankee teams.
Problem was Billy liked to drink and his expiry date came quickly. But his short term results were something to behold.
Walker was a pitcher who made the most of his limited talents while a player. And he seems to make the most of every pitcher under his tutelage as well.
Hopefully free agent pitchers will want to come here and learn from him. Maybe that's a reach in this mercenary era we live in but Jays fans can hope.
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Some of the very best coaches in all of the sports were pretty much unknown as players.
Sparky Anderson---AAA Toronto Maple Leafs
Scotty Bowman---Never played pro
Tony LaRussa
Bill Belichik
Red Auerbach
Glen Sather
Punch Imlach--minor leaguer
Greg Popovich
Pat Riley (7.4 ppg)
Mike Keenan
Stars who were not good coaches:
Gretz
Boom Boom Geoffrion
Pete Rose
Red Kelly
Frank Robinson
Larry Robinson--He did win a cup with the Devils but an overall mediocre coaching career compared to his playing days.
Guys who were good at both:
Mike Ditka
Sid Abel
Toe Blake
Casey Stengel (not a star player but decent)
Lenny Wilkens
Joe Torre
Sparky Anderson---AAA Toronto Maple Leafs
Scotty Bowman---Never played pro
Tony LaRussa
Bill Belichik
Red Auerbach
Glen Sather
Punch Imlach--minor leaguer
Greg Popovich
Pat Riley (7.4 ppg)
Mike Keenan
Stars who were not good coaches:
Gretz
Boom Boom Geoffrion
Pete Rose
Red Kelly
Frank Robinson
Larry Robinson--He did win a cup with the Devils but an overall mediocre coaching career compared to his playing days.
Guys who were good at both:
Mike Ditka
Sid Abel
Toe Blake
Casey Stengel (not a star player but decent)
Lenny Wilkens
Joe Torre
This is an interesting piece of Glen Sather trivia, (I'm trying to find a link to confirm when this happened). Sather once scored a goal and was assessed with a minor penalty at the same, (scoreboard), time in an NHL game.
Sather had committed a minor infraction, and the referee's arm went up to indicate a delayed penalty. The opposing team, who had possession of the puck, pulled their goalie for a sixth attacker. An errant backwards pass went into their empty net, and since Sather had been the last player on his team to have touched the puck, he was credited with the goal before serving his two minute penalty.
Your point is taken. The majority of the great coaches in pro sports were not great (or even good) pro players. The greatest college basketball coach, Coach K from Duke, played PG for 3 years at Army and his best season was 6.7 ppg.
His track record so far is pretty minimal but I find Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour to be very impressive. He was also a very good NHL player for many years.
I expect that Andrew Brunette, in his first year as head coach of the Florida Panthers, will have a very good coaching career too. He had a solid NHL playing career.
Additional former good players who were also good coaches/ managers"
Baseball: Leo Durocher, Bob Boone, Lou Piniella, Dusty Baker, Davey Johnson, Gil Hodges, Frank Chance, Harvey Kuenn, Frankie Frisch, Red Schoendienst, John McGraw, Bill Terry, Felipe Alou, Aaron Boone, Eddie Collins, Mickey Cochrane, Mike Scioscia.
I'll do a hockey, basketball and football list another time
Baseball: Leo Durocher, Bob Boone, Lou Piniella, Dusty Baker, Davey Johnson, Gil Hodges, Frank Chance, Harvey Kuenn, Frankie Frisch, Red Schoendienst, John McGraw, Bill Terry, Felipe Alou, Aaron Boone, Eddie Collins, Mickey Cochrane, Mike Scioscia.
I'll do a hockey, basketball and football list another time
And Oakland hired a new manager, so there's one less opening.
Oakland Athletics hire Mark Kotsay as manager, filling last vacancy in MLB - CBSSports.com
Oakland Athletics hire Mark Kotsay as manager, filling last vacancy in MLB - CBSSports.com
