I’ve been pretty intrigued to see how people have reacted to the “Andy Van Slyke wants to interview for the Pirates’ managerial job and the front office might not be completely opposed to the idea” story. Some people are obviously just geeked at the thought that he wants to be involved with the team again, while others say things like, “He has no experience, this would be pandering to the fans and the worse move the Pirates could ever make ever.”
I fall somewhere in between; I’m a big Van Slyke fan, obviously, and while I do understand why he seems underqualified to some people I’m also never sure just how much that means. Some guys manage in the minors for years before getting big league jobs, others step right into big league jobs after their playing careers and seem to be just fine. Ozzie Guillen coached for two years before becoming the White Sox manager, and he’s worked out fine in Chicago. The Dodgers just handed Don Mattingly their hitting coach’s position on the strength of Joe Torre liking him.
So that’s the poll question for today: Does the next Pirate manager have to have managerial experience at one level or another?
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