Despite what some "experts" say, Baltimore's Earl Weaver was not the best manager of the 1970's. That honor goes to Cincinnati's Sparky Anderson, and the records will back me up. In his nine years with the Reds (1970-'78) Sparky posted a record of 863-586 for a win percent of .596. During that same span, Weaver's mark was 842-599 for a win percent of .584. Sparky won more division titles, pennants and World Series as well. This is amazing when you consider that Weaver had sixteen 20-game winners in those years while Sparky had just one. Besides, how can weaver be the top skipper of the decade when he didn't even win ONE AL title between '72 and '78? And did you know that from 1972-'82 the Orioles had 23 Gold Glovers, 12 20-game winners and 5 Cy Young Award winners YET Earl Weaver got them to just ONE World Series in the eleven years??!! That is definitely NOT getting the most from the talent available. For best manager of the '70's, look no further than Sparky Anderson. He got the MOST from his Cincinnati teams.
» Mike Scott is a baseball fan from Pennsylvania.
Also by Mike Scott
» The '76 Reds Deserve More Credit
» More submissions
Copyright © 2003 by Bink. Posted February 17, 2003.
BALLPLAYERS | TEAMS | CHRONOLOGY | TODAY | BOOKS | NEWSLETTER | ERRATA | FAQ
