Bobby Valentine out – who’s in?
Oct 15, 2010, 1:03 PM | Updated: Apr 4, 2011, 7:54 pm
by Jessamyn McIntyre
According to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times, Bobby Valentine is out of contention for the Mariners managerial position.
This comes as a bit of a shock, as Valentine was touted by many, including Mariners reporter, Shannon Drayer, to be the front-runner for the job.
With one candidate down, there are reportedly four others still in the race for the job, which Drayer says the Mariners hope to have filled by the World Series. John Gibbons, Eric Wedge, Lloyd McClendon and Cecil Cooper all interviewed with the Mariners this week as well.
Valentine may have been the most recognizable name on the list of candidates, but as Jack Zduriencik has stated, the team is looking for experience above all else. That is one thing all four remaining candidates have in common:
Cecil Cooper: managed the Houston Astros from 2006-2009 with a combined record of 171-170.
Eric Wedge: managed the Cleveland Indians from 2003-2009, leading the team to the ALCS in 2006. His combined record over 7 season is 561-573.
Lloyd McClendon: had the reigns in Pittsburgh from 2001-2005, but never got the team higher than 4th place in the NL East. He ended his managerial career with a 336-446 record.
John Gibbons: managed the Toronto Blue Jays from 2004-2008, but was fired in the middle of the 2008 season. He ended his run with the Blue Jays with a 305-305 record.
Each candidate has similar win-loss records, all hovering around a .500 win percentage. While Valentine, the only contender allegedly out of the running, has a similar career percentage at .510, he’s the only one who has taken a team to the World Series (2000 Mets).
So why is Valentine out? Larry Stone joined Brock and Salk on 710 ESPN Seattle to explain the probable reasons.
“Bobby Valentine’s the kind of guy where drama and intrigue follow him around,” Stone said. “There always seems to be something going on, and I think they might have been wary of that. The money issue could have come into play. And, one of the other guys could have just blown them away and convinced them that he was their guy.”
The World Series begins on Wednesday, October 27th, so we may know who the next manager of the Seattle Mariners is in less than two weeks.
Keep up to date on that and all Mariners news by checking out Shannon Drayer’s blog and listening to the home of the Mariners, 710 ESPN Seattle.
