Detroit Tigers Get it Right; Hire Brad Ausmus as Next Manager

By Charlie Portelli


I am not going to beat around the bush with this one; I absolutely love the hire of Brad Ausmus to be the next Detroit Tigers manager. I believe Dave Dombrowski and the others involved in the hiring process nailed this one. Ausmus was the one guy that I had eyed from the very beginning of the managerial search. The idea of a young and hungry manager looking for his first shot to prove himself had me intrigued and excited. I was hoping that Dave Dombrowski would interview him. Ausmus eventually got that interview, (after a couple of other candidates interviewed) and he blew Dombrowski and others away, which did not surprise me in the slightest. The Tigers now have their manager in place, with a ready made winning team at his disposal. With that said, there seems to be a good deal of skepticism coming with the hire of Ausmus among fans. Let me ease your mind.

The main knock on Brad Ausmus as Tigers manager is obvious, he has never managed before. That is certainly a legitimate concern but at the same time it isn't the end all, be all either. Ausmus is respected by many ex-managers, players, and other peers in the game. Dave Dombrowksi consulted with many people, most notably two of the greatest managers in the history of baseball, Tony Larussa and Joe Torre.  Joe Torre, who managed Ausmus at the end of his career with the Dodgers, was one of the biggest advocates of Ausmus getting a shot at managing in the Major Leagues. 

"Every time Brads name came up, it was effusive with praise" said Dombrowski. 

 This is a guy that was simply looking for his first shot at a chance to manage an MLB baseball team and Tigers fans should consider themselves lucky that he is getting his first crack here in Detroit. 

Who is Brad Ausmus and Why Will He Be Successful in Detroit?

Ausmus spent a career in the Major Leagues that lasted 18 years as a catcher. Throughout his career as a catcher in baseball he was never considered a great player. He was traded from team to team. He started with the Padres, then the Tigers, Astros, Tigers again, Astros again, before finishing with the Dodgers. When his playing days finally ended (a mere 3 years ago) he had only a career .251 batting average. However, Ausmus excelled as an actual catcher because he simply had a mind for the game of baseball. He won 3 gold gloves in his career and pitchers loved to pitch to him. He called great games and made life easier for the pitchers. He also took a lot of pressure off of his managers when he was catching due to their trust in him managing the game on the field. When catchers are at their best, they are the manager on the field. It is the catcher that is the leader on a baseball diamond. This is what Ausmus did best. He played into his 40's despite never sporting a batting average over .275 in any one season. He was able to do this because he was an incredible asset to teams as a game manager, mature leader, and a great defender. 

The best managers are rarely former superstars in the league. They are mostly made up of players like Ausmus that have sustained careers based on their intelligence and intangible values that can oftentimes be overlooked by the average fan.

 Jim Leyland is a model example. He was a smart catcher but could not hit to save his life. He never made it out of the minor leagues because of his short comings as a hitter, but was able to become a manager in the major leagues where he was so successful it might lead him to the Hall of Fame.

 It also comes as no coincidence that Brad Ausmus getting hired as Tigers manager now makes it a whopping 9 major league managers who were former major league catchers. That makes up nearly a third of the teams in the league. Catchers make good managers. He joins the likes of Joe Girardi (Yankees), Mike Scoscia (Angels), Bruce Bochy (Giants), Bob Melvin (Athletics), Mike Matheny (Cardinals), Ned Yost (Royals), John Gibbons (Blue Jays), and Mike Redmond (Marlins). Reread that list. Those just so happen to be some of the best managers in the game today. Also not a coincidence. 

As I said, the fact that Ausmus has not actually managed before is a real concern, it would be silly to overlook that fact. But sometimes a young and fresh outlook can be refreshing to a ball club. I thought it would have been an epic mistake to stay in house by hiring an existing coach on the Tigers staff to replace Jim Leyland. The hitting coach, Lloyd McClendon interviewed for the position and others such as bench coach Gene Lamont and third base coach Tom Brookens were rumored to be interested as well. Many thought that this would be the way to go, given the Tigers success in recent years. Also, with so many established stars in the locker room who had grown comfortable with a certain culture, changing too much could destroy what the Tigers had worked so hard to build over the last decade. While the Tigers never won a World Series under Leyland, they sustained extreme success that most teams in the league strive for. 

An example in sports where this sort of "comfortable, maintain the same culture" approach was taken, look no further than down the road with the Detroit Red Wings. After the 2002 Stanley Cup winning season, Scotty Bowman retired as the head coach of the Red Wings. He left behind a franchise that had enjoyed multiple Stanley Cup Championships in recent years. With no need for a big culture change, an existing assistant coach on the Red Wings named Dave Lewis took over. Dave Lewis was successful in the regular season with a dominant roster but failed in the playoffs going 6-10 over two years before he was removed as head coach. The Dave Lewis experiment was disastrous in Detroit, just like a Lloyd McClendon, Gene Lamont, or Tom Brookens experiment would be. 

Another factor that supplements my confidence in Brad Ausmus as the next Tigers manager is the fact that he has already named Gene Lamont as his bench coach. Gene Lamont (also a former Major League catcher) was Jim Leyland's right hand man for essentially his entire career as a Major League manager. In the case you are unfamiliar with what a bench coach in baseball is, it is basically a second manager, he helps the manager manage the baseball game and serves as a second set of brains to the lead manager. Lamont obviously has great familiarity with the ball club, knows the in's and out's, and will enhance Ausmus' ability to successfully manage the Tigers. While Ausmus is capable, he will need Lamont's help, especially in year one of the process. 

I am willing to predict Brad Ausmus as the next great thing as a manager in the Major Leagues. It does not hurt that he is inserted into a great situation with the 2014 Detroit Tigers where he is set up to flourish. There will be tough times, happy times, and everything in between. 

The Tigers are built to contend for a championship once again next year, and Ausmus should only enhance their chances of winning it all. 

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