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Until last Friday, MLB had gone nearly four years without a managerial firing during the middle of a full 162-game season, since the Cardinals dismissed Mike Matheny in July 2018. That’s a remarkable change in pace from earlier this century, when an average of 3.5 teams each year changed managers midseason between ’01 and ’11.
In a time before decisions were heavily influenced by data provided by the front office, switching up the manager was a common tactic for a team looking for a spark or change in philosophy. In 2001 the Red Sox, having lost six of seven, fired Jimy Williams in mid-August despite being just 2½ games out of a playoff spot. In ’02, three managers were fired by May 1. In ‘03, the Marlins fired Jeff Torborg in May, replaced him with Jack McKeon and went on to win the World Series. In ‘04, Williams was fired midseason again—this time by the Astros, who hired Phil Garner, who’d been fired in April ’02 by the Tigers. You get the point.
