fired as Oakland A’s Head Coach
Oakland, California – Even though he led the Oakland Athletics to the A.L. Championship Series, Ken Macha’s tenure was not preserved.
Two days after Detroit swept the West champs out of the playoffs, Macha was dismissed on Monday.
There was no replacement announced by the A’s. Bench coach Bob Geren was seen as one of the best options.
Billy Beane, general manager, stated, “Not to fault either side, but I felt a disconnect on a lot of levels.” Once more, the intention is not to criticize Ken or anything similar. But we had to address that divide as quickly as possible because it was there.
Despite having a 368-280 record in his four seasons as manager, Oakland has disappointed both management and supporters by not making it to the World Series.
“I’m pleased with what we accomplished here,” Macha stated over the phone. “We won a lot of baseball games, and that was my only goal every day when I went to the ballpark to represent the Oakland A’s. I don’t regret anything.
In a bizarre turn of events in October of last year, Macha was fired by the A’s and then brought back a week later with a three-year deal.
Since the end of the season, the A’s are the sixth major league team to fire their manager. Joe Girardi (Florida), Felipe Alou (San Francisco), Dusty Baker (Chicago Cubs), Frank Robinson (Washington), and Buck Showalter (Texas) are also leaving.
It’s accepted that giving Beane a break is necessary to handle the A’s. Beane’s management style and reliance on statistics are extensively examined in the best-selling book “Moneyball,” which portrays the position as basically interchangeable and unworthy of the large salaries that other clubs pay their managers.
Macha, 56, earned $800,000 this year, but $2.025 million was still outstanding.
Oakland finished 93-69 and won the West despite a slew of injuries. The A’s were ousted in four consecutive games by the Tigers, their first ALCS since 1992, following their three-game sweep of Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs.
Tony La Russa, the manager of the Cardinals, managed Oakland from 1986 to 1995. “I’m really shocked,” he stated. “I only consider the season they were in. .. How did they defeat Minnesota if there was conflict?
Rehiring Macha last year wasn’t a mistake, according to Beane.
Beane responded, “No, I don’t think you can take a decision out of the context of when it was made.” “We believe that this is the right decision at this time, and that was the right decision at that point as well.”
