Well, it’s Tres de Mayo. How are things going so far this baseball season? You managing OK? Life OK? You doing better than poor Pedro Grifol? The guy waited patiently to become a big-league manager, and his first month was — how can I phrase it? — not so great. It would be inappropriate for me to use foul language, which brings up the fact that this is the 40th anniversary of one of the greatest bleeping rants in managerial history.
On April 29, 1983, manager Lee Elia had just watched the Cubs lose a heartbreaker to the Dodgers that dropped their record to 5-14. Joel Bierig, a first-year backup beat reporter for the Sun-Times, was there to catch Lee say: ‘‘We’ve got all these so-called f-----’ fans who come out here and say they’re Cub fans that are supposed to be behind you, rippin’ every f-----’ thing you do. I’ll tell you one f-----’ thing: I hope we f-----’ get hotter than s--- just to stuff it up them 3,000 f-----’ people that show up every f-----’ day. Because if they’re the real Chicago f-----’ fans, they can kiss my f-----’ ass right downtown and PRINT IT!’’ And that was just the start. It was Les Grobstein who recorded the rant, and you can hear The Grobber’s edited tape on YouTube.
Being a baseball manager doesn’t sound like an easy gig. Earl Weaver said: ‘‘The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals and three-run homers.’’ Casey Stengel said: ‘‘The key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate me away from those who are still undecided.’’ And Joe Maddon added: ‘‘Because the manager has so many voices in the back of his head by the time the game begins, it’s not his game like it had been. It’s absolutely the front office’s game.’’ So if you want to be a manager, go for it. I’m quite content being the Quizmaster because I enjoy coming up with questions, receiving your emails and reminding you all to have fun and learn a lot on this quiz about managers.
1. In 2008, Cubs manager David Ross played for a Hall of Fame manager when they were both with the Braves. Who was the manager?
a. Dusty Baker c. Bobby Cox
b. Jim Tracy d. Bruce Bochy
2. Tony La Russa managed the White Sox, A’s and Cardinals. He was successful for a number of seasons and managed a number of Hall of Famers. Here are four HOF-ers. Name which of the three teams he played for while Tony was the manager.
a. Jim Edmonds c. Rickey Henderson
b. Tim Raines d. Ozzie Smith
3. You often hear Joe Girardi on a Cubs telecast. Which of these teams did he NOT manage?
a. Yankees c. Cubs
b. Phillies d. Marlins
4. Pedro Grifol was preceded by Tony La Russa. La Russa replaced Rick Renteria. Who was Renteria’s immediate predecessor?
a. Robin Ventura c. Don Cooper
b. Ozzie Guillen d. Jerry Manuel
5. Which active manager has the most lifetime victories?
a. Terry Francona c. Dave Roberts
b. Dusty Baker d. Aaron Boone
6. Which of these Hall of Famers was NOT a major-league manager?
a. Joe Cronin d. Ted Williams
b. Babe Ruth e. They all were
c. Larry Doby f. None were
7. Catchers often make good managers because they have to handle the pitching staff, align the defense, communicate with the coaches and, obviously, observe the game from a unique perspective. Which of these managers with a Chicago connection were catchers?
a. David Ross d. Jeff Torborg
b. Joe Girardi e. They all were
c. Pedro Grifol f. None were
8. Bobby Cox was ejected from 162 games, the equivalent of a full season. Here are some managers who at one time in their careers managed a team in Chicago. Put them in order for the number of times they were ejected in their entire managerial careers, not just when managing in Chicago.
a. Tony La Russa d. Frankie Frisch
b. Joe Maddon e. Paul Richards
c. Leo Durocher
9. Our walk-off question of the week: When the Dodgers’ Kirk Gibson homered off the A’s Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, who were the managers of each of the teams?
a. Tommy Lasorda d. Tony La Russa
b. Walter Alston e. Ron Washington
c. Rene Lachemann f. Bill Russell
Have a safe, healthy and happy week. Email me some questions or theme ideas for some future quizzes.
ANSWERS
1. David Ross played for all those managers, but the HOF-er in Atlanta was Bobby Cox. 2. Tim Raines (White Sox), Rickey Henderson (Athletics), Ozzie Smith (Cardinals) and Jim Edmonds (Cardinals). 3. Joe Girardi played for the Cubs but never managed them. His first managerial position was with the Marlins in 2006. 4. Rick Renteria managed the White Sox in 2017-20. Robin Ventura managed the team in 2012-16. He took over from Ozzie Guillen (with Don Cooper managing two games on an interim basis). Jerry Manuel preceded Guillen. 5. Johnnie B. Baker, whom we knowingly love as ‘‘Dusty,’’ leads all active managers in victories. He has managed the Giants, Cubs, Reds, Nationals and Astros. Of his more than 2,100 victories, he had 840 while managing in San Francisco. 6. Babe Ruth wanted very much to be a manager and really wanted to manage the Yankees. He never managed in the majors, but the rest did. 7. They all were, although Pedro Grifol never made it to the majors. 8. Leo Durocher, 100; Tony La Russa, 93; Paul Richards, 82; Joe Maddon, 59; and Frankie Frisch, 88. 9. Tommy Lasorda for the Dodgers and Tony La Russa for the Athletics were the managers.
