The Great Yankee Manager, Casey Stengel

 

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“Sure I played, did you think I was born at the age of 70 sitting in a dugout trying to manage guys like you?”

“The key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate me away from those who are still undecided.”

“Being with a woman all night never hurt no professional baseball player. It’s staying up all night looking for a woman that does him in.”

“They say Yogi Berra is funny. Well, he has a lovely wife and family, a beautiful home, money in the bank, and he plays golf with millionaires. What’s funny about that?”

“They say some of my stars drink whiskey, but I have found that ones who drink milkshakes don’t win many ball games.”

“The Mets have shown me more ways to lose than I even knew existed.”

“It’s wonderful to meet so many friends that I didn’t used to like.”

 

We’re all aware of the success the great Hall-of-Fame manager Casey Stengel had with the Yankees from 1949-1960. The “Old Perfesser” went 1149-696 (.623), won ten pennants, and seven World Series championships, including a record five consecutive championships from 1949 – 1953.

As manager of the Yankees, Stengel gained a reputation as a sharp, innovative tactician. He was known to freely platoon left and right-handed hitters, a strategy which had largely fallen out of favor in the late 1940s. Casey was not hesitate to bring in situational pitchers or to pinch-hit for his starting pitcher in early innings if he felt the situation warranted. Casey was also known to move players in and out of the line-up, putting in good hitters in the early innings and replacing them for better fielders later. All these tactics are commonplace today. Connie Mack once said of him: “I never saw a man who juggled his lineup so much and who played so many hunches so successfully.”

Stengel was known for his colorful personality and antics on the field, and was always friendly to the media and photographers. He was a master publicist and promoter, and became as much of a public figure as many of his star players. Casey appeared on the cover of many national magazines, including Time. His legendary “stream-of-consciousness” monologues on baseball tactics became known as “Stengelese.”

Casey’s career as a manager wasn’t always so successful. Few baseball fans remember his record before he got to New York – and with good reason! He managed some really miserable teams in the National League, compiling a less-than-stellar 581-741 record (.439) over nine seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Bees (Braves). Over these nine seasons, he finished 5th twice, 6th twice, and 7th five times.

Casey’s uniform number 37 has been retired by both the Yankees and the Mets. The Yankees retired the number on August 8, 1970, and dedicated a plaque in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park on July 30, 1976. The plaque reads in part: “Brightened baseball for over 50 years; with spirit of eternal youth.” Stengel is the only man to have worn the uniform (as player or manager) of all four major league baseball teams in New York: the Giants (as a player), Dodgers (as a player and a manager), Yankees (as a manager), and Mets ( as a manager). In 2009, he was named “The Greatest Character of The Game” by the Major League Baseball Network.

In addition to his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966, he was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1981. Stengel is the first man in major league baseball history to have had his number retired by more than one team based solely upon his managerial accomplishments.

Last year I did a ranking of baseball’s all-time greatest managers using a formula based on pennants and World Series victories. Casey came out number one in my system. Here’s a link:https://www.facebook.com/308921932607061/photos/pb.308921932607061.-2207520000.1452093930./382994491866471/?type=3&theater

Photo Credits: First photo originally from the Chicago Sun-Times, now found on Legendary Auctions:
http://www.legendaryauctions.com/casey-stengel-peers-the-length-of-the-dugout-original-negative-lot104245.aspx. Thanks to my OTBP partner Ron Bolton for sending it to me. It was also edited by Don Stokes.