There’s a lot to like about the way that Joe Maddon manages his Tampa Bay Rays.
In an era where going by the book is vastly overdone, the 58-year-old skipper – now in his seventh season at the helm – is the poster child of thinking outside the box.
Whether it’s employing a five-man infield to shut down a late rally by the opposition, or over-shifting the defence according to what the scouting reports tell him, he’s never been afraid to buck conventional thinking.
Quite frankly, it’s refreshing to watch him go about his business.
Over the years here in Toronto with minor league managers in major league jobs, like Carlos Tosca and John Gibbons, going by the book was the preferred modus operandi. Not because it worked so to speak, but because it made it easier to answer to the media “managers” that inhabit the 300 level press box on a nightly basis. When questioned “What was your thinking on…?”, it was always easier to respond with “Well the book said…”. This is what happens when you show up to a gun fight with a knife.
Maddon’s style of managing has been born out of necessity.
The fact that his organization is run on a shoestring budget, thanks to annually the lowest attendance numbers in the league, he has to work with what he’s got.
Beginning in 2008, which interestingly enough coincides with the franchise shedding ‘Devil’ from their team nickname, the Rays sport the third-best record in all of baseball winning 56.4 per cent of their games, bettered only by high payroll juggernauts the Yankees and Phillies. And all of his success comes at a severe fraction of the cost of the big-money ball clubs in the AL East.
This season, it’s more of the same from Maddon’s Rays as they sit on the edge of the two Wild Card slots. But unlike years past, they are doing it with one of the poorest offenses in the league – currently ranked 12th – and a defence that has left a lot to be desired, which is 28th ranked in MLB thanks to 93 errors in their first 132 games.
This team wins thanks to the American League’s top pitching staff, with both the rotation and bullpen leading the junior circuit in ERA. Maddon has been forced to play a National League-style of ball in the decidedly offensive A.L. with great success, although it seems to be catching up to them.
Thursday’s opener of a Labour Day weekend four game set in Toronto was a prime example. Blue Jays starter Carlos Villanueva and three relievers held the Rays to just five solitary singles and 11 strikeouts as Tampa Bay was shut out for the third time in their last nine games, and ninth time overall.
Pitching can only keep you in so many games and at some point the offence has to carry a team. That hasn’t happened very often this season, which is why Maddon is forced to employ small ball tactics far more often than any other American League team, using the bunt and the double steal more often than most, and far more often this season.
But Maddon’s “out there” way of thinking also pertains to matters away from the actual playing of the games. He organizes themed road trips where the players dress in the best gold attire, or wear hockey jerseys, or dress like Elvis.
It helps break the monotony of men, away from their families, hanging around each other in close spaces for what could be up nine months. And lately, he’s been employing what are called “American Legion” days, where his players are allowed to show up late in the afternoon (3:30) and the team doesn’t take batting practice, the thinking is that skipping B.P. during the dog days of the season can help keep the energy higher when it’s starting to wane.
Will this all work out in the end? It’s hard to say, but the team sits just 1.5 games away from their fourth playoff appearance in the last six seasons, something that few small market teams can claim.
Is it all about Maddon and his methods? That’s debatable, but it says here that by eschewing the norm, something that the modern fan should embrace, he’s set his team up with the best chance to win on a daily basis. It might not work in too many other places.
It probably works best for Tampa Bay because nobody is watching anyway.