Would You Want Lloyd McClendon To Manage Your Team? I'm Thinking Not So Much

John Lowe - Detroit Free Press

It seems strange that Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon is getting mentioned little, if at all, for baseball’s many managerial openings. McClendon, 51, has seen the game from many angles. He played infield, outfield and catcher during his career with three big-league teams. He’s coached for several years in the majors, including a valuable stint as bullpen coach. And he managed in the majors (Pittsburgh, 2001-05). McClendon never had a winning record with the Pirates, but as someone who got fired from his first managerial job without reaching the postseason, McClendon joined the ranks of some of baseball’s most successful contemporary managers.

That group consists of:
• Bobby Cox, who after an early first tenure in Atlanta won a division title in Toronto, then 14 more back in Atlanta;
• Terry Francona, who went from being fired in Philadelphia to leading Boston to its first two world titles since 1918;
• Joe Girardi, who went from Florida to last year’s world title with the Yankees;
• Joe Torre, who went from an unsuccessful tenure with the Mets to a division title in Atlanta, another title-less tenure in St. Louis, and then a dynasty at Yankee Stadium.

From 2007 on, McClendon has been with Leyland in the dugout as the hitting coach.
“I’ve always prided myself on preparation, and the opportunity to work with Jim the last five years has given me a greater appreciation of making sure that you’re prepared and that your players are prepared,” McClendon said. “I’ve always believed that you don’t ask a team to win on a particular night. You ask the players to prepare to put themselves in position to win.” McClendon would appear to have done plenty to prepare for another chance to manage.

What drugs is John Lowe on? His main argument is that Lloyd is qualified for another managerial position because he has been around baseball and seen it from so many different angles. According to that logic, every bat boy over the age of 12 should get a look too. Oh and managing the '01-'05 Pirates to a .430 win percentage isn't something I'd put on a resume unless I was trying to get a job at a fuckin Subway. Lloyd's only noteworthy moment in Pittsburgh came after he got booted and took first base with him into the clubhouse. That was actually pretty good.

But the honest to goodness truth is that Lloyd has been an absolute disaster as the Tigers hitting coach the last four years and has openly acknowledged that he was incapable of fixing player's swings. Pretty sure that's an important skill to have as a hitting coach. Plus he had a career .240 average when he was a player. If you can't play and you can't teach then what business do you have in professional baseball?

Comparing McClendon to Bobby Cox, Terry Francona, Joe Girardi, and Joe Torre is baseball sacrilege. Even just writing his name in that same sentence made me cringe. It's like throwing my name around with the likes of William Shakespeare and Ralph Waldo Emerson. But hey, if Lowe is so inclined to publish that nonsense in the Freep then who am I to stop him.

PS - that quote about how preparation is more important than asking guys to go out and win on a specific night is ridiculous. Being a hitting coach is about constant adjustments, tweaking little things, and taking advantage of the specific pitcher you have on the mound that night. You don't just sit back when shit doesn't work and say "well, it's okay cause this is what I practiced in spring training".