Scoreboards

• The top American baseball coaches and managers not only racked up impressive win records and championships many are also enshrined in the hallowed halls of the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Many will argue that they won due to the impressive line-ups at their disposal; however, it takes skill to forge individual talent into a cohesive unit
• It also helps to have quality baseball pitching coaches guiding your star hurlers. Other than the Major Leagues, the American Baseball Coaches Association is where many coaches for baseball learn their craft

The Top 5 American Baseball Coaches and Managers

One of the best coaches for baseball was the “Old Professor” himself, Manager Casey Stengel. Many considered him to be a sub-par manager when he coached the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves; however when he took the helm of the Yankees his fortunes turned around. Racking up 1,149 wins vs. 696 losses, capturing 10 American League pennants and seven World Series championships ensured his place in history and in the Hall of Fame.

Sparky Anderson took two different teams to the Fall Classic capturing the title three times. He was the skipper of the Cincinnati Reds “Big Red Machine” in the 1970’s winning consecutive World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. As the manager of the Detroit Tigers in 1984 he sparked his team to a 35-5 won/lost record in the first forty games of the season and never looked back…winning World Series over the San Diego Padres.

Tony LaRussa is third on the all-time wins list behind the legendary Connie Mack and John McGraw. As the current manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, LaRussa is considered one of the top American baseball coaches. As manager of the Oakland Athletics from 1986 to 1995, LaRussa employed one of the top baseball pitching coaches of all time in David Duncan.

John McGraw gained fame with the New York Giants where he ruled with an iron fist for thirty years. With McGraw at the helm from 1902 to 1932, the Giants captured nine National League pennants and three World Series. His competitive nature also resulted in him becoming 2nd all-time in game ejections.

Joe McCarthy has the highest winning percentage among American baseball coaches. From 1931 to 1946, McCarthy coached his teams to eight American League pennants and seven World Series. His .615 regular season and .698 post-season winning percentage are going to be difficult records to beat.

American Baseball Coaches Association

The American Baseball Coaches Association was formed in 1945 to provide direction and training to college baseball coaches. The ABCA works closely with all levels of baseball organizations from youth ball to the major leagues and every baseball association in between. It took until 1991 before the National High School Baseball Coaches Association (BCA) was formed providing direction to high school coaches. The BCA publishes training materials in addition to choosing recipients for major coaching and player awards. They have also established a high school coaching Hall of Fame to honor those who have contributed to the game.