Monday, December 30, 2019

Newsletter Excerpt, December 30, 2019 -- "Mike Matheny and the Royals"

This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider. Joe Sheehan is a founding member of Baseball Prospectus and a contributor to Sports Illustrated and Baseball America. He has been writing about baseball for nearly 25 years.

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"The Royals’ biggest move this winter was hiring Mike Matheny. It’s a peculiar choice; in addition to being one of the worst tactical managers of his era, Matheny struggled to show patience with young players during his time in St. Louis. The Royals are betting a significant part of their rebuilding plan on the idea that Matheny can bring along a young core. I can more easily believe he’ll be a better dugout manager -- the Royals’ front office dragged Ned Yost up from laughably bad to almost adequate -- than that he’ll have the personality change necessary to get young players through their growing pains. This will be the most important story to watch in Kansas City this year."