By Jordan Long
The Chicago Cubs are starting their managerial search. They let go of Joe Maddon when the season ended on September 29th. There are plenty of names who the Cubs could interview including Joe Girardi, Mike Scioscia, Mark Loretta, and Will Venable.
The two who have the most experience managing in the MLB are Girardi and Scioscia. Girardi knows how to manage at the MLB level. Girardi managed the Florida Marlins and the New York Yankees for a total of 11 seasons. With both clubs, his overall record was an impressive 988-794, a winning percentage of .554. With the New York Yankees, they made the playoffs 6 times, advancing to 3 America League Championship Series and capturing the World Series in 2009.
Girardi would love to manage the Cubs. He was born in Peoria, Illinois and went to college at Northwestern. Girardi even played for the Cubs from 1989 to 1992 and again from 2000 to 2002.
The Cubs have interviewed him twice for the job. First was in 2006 when the Cubs fired Dusty Baker. Unfortunately for him, the Cubs decided to go with Lou Piniella who was with the Cubs from 2007 to 2010. His second chance at the job was in 2013 when Chicago decided to let go of Dale Sveum after two disappointing seasons. Chicago went 127-197 under Sveum. Chicago didn’t select Girardi but hired Rick Renteria who lasted only 1 season.
The Cubs know what kind of manager Girardi is. He proved it with the Yankees. He would help the Cubs become a winner again. The third time could be the charm for Girardi to earn the job.
Mike Scioscia is another name who has been a manager at the MLB level for 19 years from 2000 to 2018, all with the Los Angeles Angels. His overall record is 1,650-1,428. The Angels made the playoffs 7 times under him. In those 7 postseason runs, 2 of them ended in the American League Championship Series. In 2002 the Angels went all the way to the World Series and defeated the San Francisco Giants in 7 games for Scioscia’s only World Series title.
Scioscia makes a lot of sense. He has managerial experience and has shown he can win in the playoffs. This is the type of manager the Cubs want to have behind their bench. The only downside to Scioscia is his age at 60 years old. Who knows what he has left in the tank. Chicago may go with someone younger.
Mark Loretta and Will Venable are the internal candidates for the Cubs. Both of them have never been a manager at any level. Loretta spent this season as Bench Coach under Joe Maddon. He can take what he learned from Maddon and use it if he is the Cubs manager. Venable has been the 1st base coach for the Cubs for the previous 2 years. He doesn’t have much familiarity on the bench like Loretta.
Chicago Cubs’ President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein, will take his time with the process. It could be Girardi, Scioscia, Loretta, or Venable or it might be somebody else who will guide the Cubs in 2020.
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