Fired Managers Might Resurface Quickly
PLUS: JANE FORBES CLARK WINS PRESTIGIOUS PRESERVATION AWARD
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Kudos to the Cardinals for allowing Adam Wainwright to pinch-hit before retiring . . .
Free agent Rich Hill may be 43 but he throws left-handed and knows there’s a job for him out there . . .
Will Charlie Morton exercise his $20 million option or take his curveball and go home? . . .
Padres manager Bob Melvin and GM A.J. Preller don’t get along but owner Peter Seidler likes both and has invited them back . . .
Jordan Montgomery’s impactful Wild Card Series win made his trade from St. Louis to Texas totally worthwhile for the Rangers.
Leading Off
Can Deposed Pilots Land On Their Feet With New Clubs?
By Dan Schlossberg
Baseball is a place where strange things happen.
Leo Durocher jumps from the Dodgers to the Giants in the middle of a season.
Johnny Keane wins the World Series for the Cardinals against the Yankees and then jumps to the Bronx the next season.
The Tigers and Indians trade managers, sending Jimmie Dykes from Detroit to Cleveland for Joe Gordon — only months after trading batting champ Harvey Kuenn for home run king Rocky Colavito.
Now there’s new fodder for the grist mills.
Buck Showalter, Gabe Kapler, and Phil Nevin are out, Craig Counsell and Dusty Baker have expiring contracts, and Aaron Boone’s grip on the Yankees wheel seems to be slipping. In addition, Terry Francona has resigned to address serious health issues.
Since managers are invariably recycled, could Showalter return the American League as manager of the Angels, a team that never produced a winning year during the Shohei Ohtani tenure? Might Counsell come to New York to rejoin David Stearns, the new president of baseball operations for the Mets? Kapler is also a consideration for the Mets, who have a Jewish owner but have never had a Jewish manager.
Will the Astros extend the contract of the 74-year-old Baker — oldest manager in the majors — or let him sell his services to the highest bidder?
Brian Snitker, the oldest NL pilot at 68, is virtually certain to return to Atlanta as his contract has already been extended. If he wins the World Series for the second time in two years, it will be extended even more.
Some teams searching for managers will prefer experience, while others want potential — especially if it comes with less cost.
That means people like Carlos Beltran, Sam Fuld, and Joe Espada, who have never managed in the majors, might get their first shots.
Then there’s the recycled heap of ex-managers hoping to come back — everyone from Joe Maddon and Joe Girardi to Fredi Gonzalez, Ron Washington, and Walt Weiss. Some are bench coaches still wrapped up in the playoffs, while others are observers hoping their phones will ring.
All teams will make their decisions between the end of the World Series and start of the Nashville Winter Meetings in early December.
It should be fun to watch — and to speculate.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is national baseball writer for forbes.com and contributor to Memories & Dreams plus many other outlets. His e.mail is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Cleaning Up
Cooperstown’s Clark Family Captures Historic Preservation Award
By Dan Schlossberg
Jane Forbes Clark and the Clark Family of Cooperstown, New York have been named the recipient of the 2023 Historic Hotels of America Steward of History and Historic Preservation Award.
Historic Hotels of America is the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for recognizing and celebrating the finest Historic Hotels in the United States of America.
The Clark family is the official steward of The Otesaga, a historic lakeside resort opened in 1909, and honors the family’s tradition of cultural, historic, and community works in Cooperstown.
Jane Forbes Clark will receive the award at the 2023 Historic Hotels Awards of Excellence Ceremony and Gala, scheduled for next Thursday at The Wigwam in Litchfield Park, AZ. Owners, executives, and other decision-makers from many of the country’s finest historic hotels will be in attendance, along with representatives of numerous international properties.
During Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, honored players and their families stay at The Otesaga and often participate in a morning golf tournament that attracts autograph hounds.
Founded by the family of author James Fenimore Cooper [Last of the Mohicans], Cooperstown has been a resort destination for more than 150 years. Brothers Edward and Stephen Clark, heirs to the Singer sewing machine fortune, used their wealth to build The Otesaga on the shores of Otsego Lake, called Glimmerglass Lake in Cooper’s books.
When it opened, The Otesaga was praised for its sumptuous appointments and modern engineering. They directed the design and creation of the Leatherstocking Golf Course, now rated by Golfweek as one of the two finest golf courses in New York State.
Edward Clark later built the Alfred Corning Clark Gymnasium and created the Basset Medical Center, now associated with Columbia University, to serve the region. In 1931, Stephen the Clark Foundation, one of the largest charitable foundations in New York State. He also conceived the idea of creating a National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown. It opened in 1939.
The Clark Foundation also supports the institutions Stephen Clark helped establish in his lifetime, including the Fenimore Art Museum and The Farmers’ Museum, created on the site of the original family homestead.
This award recognizes and honors the passion and dedication of Jane Forbes Clark to the preservation of a legendary historic hotel and ensures that future generations of travelers can experience this special place, said Larry Horwitz, executive vice president of Historic Hotels of America.
Jane Forbes Clark, Stephen’s granddaughter, has carried on her family’s legacy as President of the Clark Foundation and Chairman of both Bassett Medical Center and the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, among other professional obligations. She is the fifth generation of her family to work on behalf of the village.
“I am very honored that the Historic Hotels of America are recognizing my family’s vision and work for The Otesaga Hotel in Cooperstown, New York, with their extremely prestigious Steward of History and Historic Preservation Award,” she said.
“The Clark family’s legacy is one of preservation and conservation, focusing on the need to protect and preserve the rich culture and deep history of the village, while ensuring its relevancy in the years going forward. I am deeply grateful to Historic Hotels of America and its leadership for this esteemed honor.”
Previous winners of this award included Bruce Haines, Managing Partner at Historic Hotel Bethlehem, founded in 1922 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Robert H. Dedman, Jr., General Partner of Putterboy, Ltd. and owner of Pinehurst Resort, founded in 1895 in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
Historic Hotels of America® is the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for recognizing, celebrating, and promoting the finest historic hotels in the United States of America. The National Trust for Historic Preservation was chartered by U.S. Congress in 1949 and is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is leading the movement to save places where our history happened.
To be nominated and selected for membership, a hotel must be at least 50 years old; designated by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark; listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places; meet certain standards of excellence; and be recognized as having historical significance.
More than 300 historic hotels in 44 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, are members of Historic Hotels of America. For more information, see www.HistoricHotels.org.
Former AP newsman Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is also a travel journalist who has stayed at The Otesaga several times and thoroughly enjoyed it — especially when meeting ballplayers he knew at the breakfast buffet. His e.mail is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia
“This might be the series to watch this postseason. The 104-win Braves are the postseason favorites, but that doesn’t make the Phillies any less dangerous. Both teams can slug, though Philadelphia has the better bullpen. Still, the Phillies had to burn their tandem of Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola in the Wild Card Series, which gives a fully rested Atlanta squad the advantage here.”
— Katie Wood, baseball writer, The Athletic
In his only eight starts against the Phillies, Atlanta’s Spencer Strider is 8-0 with a 1.90 earned run average . . .
Speaking of strikeouts, Hall of Famer Warren Spahn led the NL three times but never fanned 200 men in a season . . .
Willie McCovey was one of several players who wore No. 44 as a tribute to Hank Aaron . . .
Future manager Leo Durocher was once Babe Ruth’s roommate.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.