It’s only the second week of the season so it’s seems like a perfectly appropriate time to talk about which baseball manager will be the first to be fired. Bovada has put together the prop bet on which skipper will be first to be shown the door.
The favorite is Buck Showalter of the Baltimore Orioles. The three-time American League Manager of the Year has been with the club since 2010, but he is a 3/2 pick that he won’t make it to the end of this season.
Bob Melvin of the Oakland Athletics and Bryan Price of the Cincinnati Reds are next at 3/1. St. Louis skipper Mike Methany is at 7/1.
BetDSI has a different take on the futures of baseball managers. They have Price and Brian Snitker of the Braves at +250, and Melvin at +400. Showalter is at +1200.
Firing Showalter Illogical
Relieving the 61 year old of his duties midseason doesn’t make a lot of sense. Showalter is in the last year of his contract and conventional thinking would be to wait until the end of the season and not resign him.
The only factor that could change that is General Manager Dan Duquette. He also is in the last year of his contract and could possibly fire Showalter as a desperate attempt to save his own job. There is no indication from Baltimore Owner Peter Angelos that he is dissatisfied with either his general manager or manager.
The team plays in the ultra competitive AL East and is currently 4-7. The Red Sox are in first, Toronto second, Yankees third, and the Orioles fourth. Last season’s 75-87 record was the Orioles’ worst since 2011 and that may work against Showalter.
Other Choices Make More Sense
There seems to be a few more suitable candidates to leave before Showalter. The first being Price. There are several factors that point to his midseason ouster.
The first is his contract. The team only picked up his option instead of signing him to an extension. That is usually a vote of no confidence, and often means a manager is on the hot seat.
The second is his record with the Reds. He has been at the helm since 2014, replacing Dusty Baker. Coming into this season he had compiled a 276-372 record. Last year the team went 68-94 and finished last in the National League Central. The team is currently 2-7.
A longshot that would be worth plunking some cash on might be Philadelphia’s Gabe Kapler. He is listed at 10/1, but might be moving up the board with his recent decisions.
The unconventional manager of the Phillies has been criticized this season for a series of moves that were deemed questionable. He has done everything from yank a pitcher who had a 5-0 lead in the fifth inning, to use a shortstop as a reliever, to having an outfielder play so shallow he was near the infield.
His popularity with the fans is also waning. He was booed at the team’s home opener.
One manager who has turned his seat from hot to cold is Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Scioscia. The longtime skipper of the Southern California team was 12/1 to get canned, but then came Shohei Ohtani, who has almost single handedly saved his boss’ job.