The Miami Marlins have named Clayton McCullough of Oxford, North Carolina as their new manager according to Mark Polishuk of mlbtraderumors.com. McCullough takes over from Skip Schumaker.
Why did Schumaker leave?
Schumaker left the Marlins before the end of the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season and told his players he would not be returning for the 2025 season. The reason why he left prior to the Marlins/Blue Jays regular season series in Toronto, Ontario was because of the passing of his grandmother. Then on November 5, Schumaker was named a senior advisor to baseball operations with the Texas Rangers.
In 2024, the Marlins had the third worst record in all of Major League Baseball at 62 wins and 100 losses for a winning percentage of .363. The only two teams worse were the Chicago White Sox (41 wins and 121 losses), and the Colorado Rockies (61 wins and 101 losses).
World Series champion
McCullough was the first base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2021. He was part of the Dodgers franchise that won the 2024 World Series. In five games, the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees four games to one.
Did McCullough make Shohei Ohtani better?
You may ask if McCullough made Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani better. The reason is because with McCullough standing just off of first base, Ohtani had a career-high 59 stolen bases. The most stolen bases Ohtani had in the Major Leagues before was 26 with the Los Angeles Angels in 2021. Ohtani’s 59 stolen bases were also the second most in the Major Leagues. Only Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz of Sabana Grande de Boya, Dominican Republic had more stolen bases as he had 67 last season.
Member of the Blue Jays
Prior to his time as the Dodgers’s first base coach, McCullough was a manager in the Toronto Blue Jays’s minor league system. He then joined the Dodgers minor league system in 2015.
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