MLB manager May-hem: Weird & Wild endings, and beginnings — for 3 new hires
Editor's note: This is a bonus Weird & Wild. To read this week's main W&W column, go here.
Is 'big-league manager' a good job?
It's a hard job. It's an exclusive job. (There are only 30 positions.) And 'universally beloved' is not a description you're likely to hear about anyone doing that job, no matter how good they are at it. So why do we ask this question? That's why.
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That's not usually the sort of question we ask here at Weird and Wild World HQ. But this hasn't been a 'usual' kind of month for the big-league managing profession, possibly because of this:
May 7 — Pirates fire Derek Shelton
May 11 — Rockies fire Bud Black
May 16 — Orioles fire Brandon Hyde
If you're scoring along at home — and please tell me you're not — you'll notice a trend there. Maybe two trends:
Three managers fired by May 16! That's one trend.
Three managers fired in 10 days — by May 16! Is that a second trend? Sure. Why not?
So why is this Weird and Wild material? Because so many of you seem to want to know how unusual that is. I ran those questions by my friends at STATS Perform. In a related development, now we have answers.
The May trifecta — STATS found just four other seasons since 1988 that featured (at least) three managerial firings before the end of May. Sit back and savor these. We have some fun names coming.
2002 (4) — Phil Garner, Davey Lopes, Buddy Bell, Tony Muser
2001 (4) — Larry Rothschild, Johnny Oates, John Boles, Felipe Alou
1991 (4) — Nick Leyva, Don Zimmer, John Wathan, Frank Robinson
1988 (3) — Cal Ripken Sr., Chuck Tanner, Larry Bowa
If you get the impression that managerial job stability wasn't a thing back then, you're on top of this. And especially in 2002, when, believe it or not, all four of those managers got canned in April!
Ten days in May — Now let's dig in on the rapid-fire portion of these 'festivities.' Three firings in a week and a half before June? You don't see that much (thankfully). There were three in 12 days in 2002. But only once since 1988 have we seen three managers get the boot in the first two months during a stretch this short.
That happened in 1991 when, incredibly, three managers lost their jobs in four days: Zimmer on May 19, Wathan on May 21, Robinson on May 22. Is that a record that will never be broken? Let's hope so.
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So how's it going? Do you want the bad news or the good news?
The bad news: The three new fearless leaders — Don Kelly (Pirates), Warren Schaeffer (Rockies) and Tony Mansolino (Orioles) — who inherited these managing jobs started a combined 4-19! So those firings went well.
The good news: Hey, whaddaya know, they've won *three games since Tuesday — two by Kelly, one by Mansolino. But speaking of those two guys …
Welcome to the dugout, Tony — When you get that first big-league managing job, you'd like to believe that dreams come true. Then the games start!
And in the very first inning of the very first game Mansolino managed in Baltimore, his team found itself behind, 6-0. Good times. So how rare is that? According to STATS, only two other managers since 1901 have had the thrill of seeing their teams allow at least six runs in the first inning of their major-league managing careers:
Brian Snitker, on May 17, 2016 (after replacing Fredi González with the Braves).
Joe Kuhel, on Opening Day, 1948 (after replacing Ossie Bluege with the Washington Senators).
More good news/bad news: The good news for Mansolino is, at least Snitker's and Kuhel's teams gave up seven in the first, not six. The bad news for Mansolino is, his team gave up seven runs in the first two innings two days in a row. Pretty sure that's not how he game-planned it!
For the win — It took a few days. But we're pleased to report that finally, on Wednesday, Mansolino's Orioles did win a game, in his fifth try. And it went pretty smoothly, other than the part where they blew leads in the ninth and 10th innings (before winning in 11).
So yeah, I wondered what you wondered: How many managers could possibly have won the first game of their careers in a tilt like that — with blown leads in the ninth and any extra inning? The answer, according to STATS, is weird and wild, all right.
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The 'Managers' page at Baseball Reference lists 850 men who have managed in the big leagues. Some managed in the 19th century. But …
According to STATS, exactly one other manager in the modern era 'enjoyed' his first win in a game like that Tony Mansolino game. And he's still managing in the big leagues.
That was Bob Melvin, on Opening Day 2003, for the Mariners. Kaz Sasaki and Jeff Nelson blew saves, but Seattle won anyway, inspired by a tie-breaking 11th-inning home run by my friend, Ben Davis!
Happy Ejection Day – And then there was Don Kelly. He knew how to make an entrance … by getting ejected from the second game he ever managed in the big leagues. Plate ump Clint Vondrak did the honors.
Don Kelly has been ejected in his second game as a MLB manager
Absolutely love it. pic.twitter.com/RFKgzMfhE7
— Platinum Ke'Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) May 10, 2025
Then, just to prove that was no fluke, Kelly also got ejected from his seventh game. If you're thinking that seems hard, well, excellent thinking.
According to STATS, just six other managers since 2002 have gotten the boot within the first 10 games of their careers: David Bell (2019 Reds), Dave Roberts (2016 Dodgers), Pat Murphy (2015 Padres), Kevin Cash (2015 Rays), Rick Renteria (2014 Cubs) and Ron Gardenhire (2002 Twins). But …
How many of them got ejected as early as their second game? Right you are. That would be zero. And how many of them had gotten kicked out twice by their seventh game? Right you are again. That would also be none.
So let's ask again. Is big-league manager a good job? Seems kinda stressful!
(Top photo of Don Kelly: Heather Barry / Getty Images)
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