Joe McCarthy (manager)

For the catcher who played in 1905-6, see Joe McCarthy (catcher).
For other people named Joseph McCarthy, see Joseph McCarthy (disambiguation).
Joe McCarthy

Joe McCarthy as Red Sox manager
Manager
Born: (1887-04-21)April 21, 1887
Philadelphia
Died: January 13, 1978(1978-01-13) (aged 90)
Buffalo, New York
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 13, 1926, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
June 18, 1950, for the Boston Red Sox
MLB statistics
Games 3487[1]
Win–Loss Record 2125–1333[1]
Winning % .615[1][2]
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Inducted 1957
Vote Veterans Committee

Joseph Vincent McCarthy (April 21, 1887 – January 13, 1978) was a manager in Major League Baseball, most renowned for his leadership of the "Bronx Bombers" teams of the New York Yankees from 1931 to 1946. The first manager to win pennants with both National and American League teams, he won nine league titles overall and seven World Series championships – a record tied only by Casey Stengel. McCarthy was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1957.[2]

McCarthy's career winning percentages in both the regular season (.615)[2] and postseason (.698, all in the World Series)[2] are the highest in major league history. His 2,125[1] career victories rank eighth all-time in major league history for managerial wins, and he ranks first all-time for the Yankees with 1,460 wins.[3]

Playing years

Born in Philadelphia, where he grew up idolizing Athletics manager Connie Mack, McCarthy is among a handful of successful major league managers who never played in the majors. After attending Niagara University in 1905 and 1906 on a baseball scholarship, he spent the next 15 years in the minor leagues, primarily as a second baseman with the Toledo Mud Hens, Buffalo Bisons, and Louisville Colonels. In 1916 he signed with the Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League—then considered a third major league—but the league folded before he could play a game with them.[4]

Team success

Joe McCarthy (left) with Bill Terry of the New York Giants at the 1937 All-Star Game.

McCarthy briefly served as player-manager in Wilkes-Barre in 1913. He resumed his managing career with Louisville in 1919, leading the team to American Association pennants in 1921 and 1925 before being hired to manage the Chicago Cubs for the 1926 season.[1] He turned the club around, guiding them to the 1929 NL title, but was fired near the end of the 1930 season. He wasn't unemployed for long, however; the Yankees hired him in 1931.[1]

With the Yankees, his strict but fair managing style helped to solidify the team's place as the dominant franchise in baseball, winning a World Series in 1932. His most successful period came from 1936 to 1943. During that time, they won seven out of a possible eight pennants, all by nine games or more, and won six World Series—including four in a row from 1936 to 1939. They were the first American League team, and the third in major league history, to win four straight pennants, and the first to win more than two World Series in a row. The only time during this stretch that the Yankees' dominance was even threatened was in 1940, when they struggled all season and finished third.

McCarthy struggled to control his emotions at the moving testimonial held for Lou Gehrig at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939. After describing Gehrig as "the finest example of a ballplayer, sportsman, and citizen that baseball has ever known", McCarthy could stand it no longer. Turning tearfully to Gehrig, he said, "Lou, what else can I say except that it was a sad day in the life of everybody who knew you when you [...] told me you were quitting as a ballplayer because you felt yourself a hindrance to the team. My God, man, you were never that."[5]

McCarthy resigned in May 1946, partially due to conflict with new owner Larry MacPhail. McCarthy returned as manager of the Boston Red Sox from 1948 to June 1950, but was unable to capture a pennant despite reaching a one-game playoff with the Cleveland Indians in 1948.

Coaching style

Despite his teams' great performance, McCarthy was not without his detractors, who believed he was simply fortunate enough to be provided with great talent and was not a strong game tactician. During his peak period from 1936 to 1943, when the Yankees won seven pennants in eight seasons, White Sox manager Jimmy Dykes described McCarthy as a "push-button" manager. Yet McCarthy was an outstanding teacher and developer of talent, and was particularly adept at handling temperamental players such as Babe Ruth, who had hoped to become New York's manager and resented a team "outsider" being hired.[6] Ruth and McCarthy's relationship was lukewarm at best, and chilled considerably in 1934 when Ruth began openly campaigning to become manager. Partly due to this, Ruth was traded to the lowly Boston Braves after the season.[7]

While managing, McCarthy utilized a low-key approach, never going to the mound to remove a pitcher or arguing with an umpire except on a point of the rules, preferring to stay at his seat in the center of the dugout. He also declined to wear a numbered uniform with the Yankees and Red Sox.[8]

In order to draw attention to his presumed masterful leadership of the Yankees, McCarthy was given the nickname of "Marse Joe" by sportswriters. "Marse" is a Southern English rendition of the word "master".[9] McCarthy's success throughout his career was such that in 32 years of managing, his 1922 Louisville club was the only team which finished either with a losing record or below fourth place.

McCarthy was named Major League Manager of the Year by The Sporting News in 1936 – the first year the award was given – and again in 1938 and 1943.[10]

Legacy

Joe McCarthy's Plaque in Monument Park.

In a 1969 poll by the Baseball Writers' Association of America to commemorate the sport's professional centennial, McCarthy finished third in voting for the greatest manager in history, behind John McGraw and Casey Stengel. In a similar BBWAA poll in 1997 to select an All-Century team, he finished second behind Stengel.[11] On April 29, 1976, the Yankees dedicated a plaque for their Monument Park to McCarthy. The plaque calls him "One of baseball's most beloved and respected leaders."[12] In honor of his commitment to Buffalo, McCarthy became a charter member of the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.[13]

McCarthy died of pneumonia at age 90 in Buffalo, New York,[14] and is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, (Roman Catholic) in Kenmore, New York.[15]

Ten Commandments

McCarthy's "10 Commandments for Success in the Majors":[16]

Source: Baseball's Greatest Managers (1961).

Managerial record

Team From To Regular season record Post–season record
W L Win % W L Win %
Chicago Cubs 1926 1930 442 321 .579 1 4 .200
New York Yankees 1931 1946 1460 867 .627 29 9 .763
Boston Red Sox 1948 1950 223 145 .606 0 0 –
Total 2125 1333 .615 30 13 .698
Reference:[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Joe McCarthy". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "McCarthy, Joe | Baseball Hall of Fame". Baseballhall.org. January 13, 1978. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
  3. ↑ "New York Yankees Managers". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  4. ↑ McMurray, John. "Joe McCarthy". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
  5. ↑ "This Morning With Shirley Povich: Iron Horse' Breaks as Athletic Greats Meet in His Honor". Washingtonpost.com. July 24, 1998. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
  6. ↑  . "Joe McCarthy". SABR. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
  7. ↑ Neyer, Rob (2005). Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders. New York City: Fireside. ISBN 0-7432-8491-7.
  8. ↑ "What's In A Number? | River Avenue Blues". Riveraveblues.com. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
  9. ↑ "Marse – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary". Merriam-webster.com. August 13, 2010. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
  10. ↑ "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News on Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
  11. ↑ "ESPN.com: MLB – All-Century Team final voting". Static.espn.go.com. July 18, 2003. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
  12. ↑ "Torre belongs in Monument Park | yankees.com: News". Newyork.yankees.mlb.com. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
  13. ↑ "Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame". Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Joe McCarthy". Baseball-statistics.com. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
  15. ↑ "Joseph Vincent "Marse Joe" McCarthy (1887–1978) – Find a Grave Memorial". Findagrave.com. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
  16. ↑ "Joe McCarthy's Ten Commandments for Success : A Legendary List on Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
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