Cool Managerial Anecdote

Here is something that should interest all of my Southern California readers. My wonderful mother-in-law, Alice, told me about this interesting story concerning her beloved Los Angeles Dodgers teams of the early 1980s.

The catcher on the 1980 and 1981 teams was Mike Scioscia, in his first two Major League seasons. Davey Lopes was at second base and Dusty Baker played left field. The 1981 team won the World Series.

From 2000-2002, all three of these teammates were Major League managers. Scioscia managed the Angels, Baker the Giants, and Lopes the Brewers.

It so happened that in the 2002 World Series, Scioscia and Baker met head-to-head. The Angels beat the Giants, four games to three.

Now, eight years later, Scioscia continues to manage the Angels, who are in second place in the AL West, while Baker is leading a resurgent Reds team in a heated NL Central battle with the Cardinals. Who knows? Maybe Scioscia and Baker will have a rematch in this year's World Series.

Baker also managed the Cubs with little success before taking the position with the Reds in 2008. Lopes was fired from his managerial position with the Brewers after a 3-12 start to the 2002 season and is now the first-base coach for the Phillies.

Scioscia's son, Matt, is a designated hitter, catcher, and first baseman with the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, so it's no wonder why Mike Scioscia has won a World Series as a manager and his two Dodgers teammates have not.