World Series Managerial Notes

In 2018, Alex Cora managed the Boston Red Sox to their ninth World Series win, that one 100 years after their fifth, which was followed by an 86 year title drought, the team losing in all 4 World Series appearances during that span, all in the maximum 7 games.

Cora in following 2015 title winning Kansas City Royals’ manager Ned Yost, is the sixth manager with four letters in his last name (surname), to win a World Series.

Altogether, 74 different managers have won the World Series, Yost and Cora are among the 52 different managers with one title to this point in time.

Each joined an interesting group of managers, the other four with 4 letters in their last name, to win a World Series.

First is one of the most famous, if not most famous baseball managers ever, namely the great Connie Mack.

Managing in an incredible 6 different decades for the then Philadelphia Athletics (it helps one’s longevity as manager when you at least partially own the team), Mr. Mack won 5 World Series. It should be noted that Mr. Mack’s last name was actually Mc Gillicuddy (think Lucy Ricardo).

The other three “four letter” W.S. winning managers were Eddie Dyer (St. Louis Cardinals 1946), Ralph Houk (New York Yankees 1961 and 1962) and Alvin Dark (Oakland A’s 1974).

While Connie Mack won no other World Series when he was not the manager,( he managed in all the possible World Series years of his career), Yost, Dyer, Houk, Dark, Yost and Cora all won World Series in other roles in other years in addition to their managerial title(s).

Cora, still in as Boston manager, won a title as a player there in 2007 and was a coach for the 2017 title winning Houston Astros, before guiding the 2018 Red Sox to their aforementioned ninth crown.

Now thirty years ago, Yost was a coach on the Atlanta Braves World Series winner, who were managed by Bobby Cox, the only manager with 3 letters or less, in his last name to win a World Series.

Eddie Dyer was a pitcher on the 1926 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals, though he did not appear in the World Series.

Ralph Houk played and  coached on New York Yankees World Series winners before guiding them to back to back titles in 1961 and 1962. He coached on the 1958 title team and had one at bat in winning World series for the Yankees in 1947 and 1952.

Alvin Dark was the only one in the group to have been a starting player on a World Series winner (shortstop on the 1954 New York Giants, in his life he caught a touchdown pass from Y.A. Tittle at LSU University and hit a home run off Sandy Koufax) before managing the Oakland A’s to a World Series victory twenty years later.

The legendary Connie Mack pictured above.