By Will-He-M
Beween 1901 and 1968, teams were either in the American League or the National League. In 1969, the AL East, AL West, NL East and NL West were created. In 1994, the AL Central and the NL Central were added to make six Divisions, which introduced the Wild Card spot.
For the first sixty years of the century, winning a Pennant was a contest between eight teams. In 1961, the American League expanded by two teams, with the National League following suit in 1962. For most of the 60's, winning a Pennant became a ten-team contest.
With another expansion for each league in 1969, winning a Pennant became a 12-team contest in both leagues. Fortunately for managers, Division titles were the new measure of regular season success, and there were four of them. Each Title would initially be contested between only six teams.
In 1977, the American League added two more teams, making each of their Division Titles a seven-team contest. The National League followed suit in 1993, giving themselves only one season of seven-team Divisions. The following season saw six Division Titles contested by either 4 or 5 teams per Division, and the new consolation prizes, the Wild Cards were added to each league.
The National League launched their 4th two-team expansion in 1998, giving them a total of 16 teams in the 38th year of the Expansion Era. Once again, it became a six-team contest to win the NL Central Division (though an AL West Division title could still be had in a four-way race).
So while winning a Pennant has gotten progressively tougher from 1960-1998, winning a Division Title actually got easier between 1993 and 1994.
In addition to chasing Pennants and Division Titles, baseball managers have been awarded individual honours, as well. Between 1936-1985, The Sporting News awarded one Manager of the Year Award for all of baseball. They have since switched to awarding one per league. It wasn't until 1983 that MLB began awarding their own official Manager of the Year trophy, granting one to each league. This award was voted upon by the Base Ball Writers Association of America. By that time, however, there had already been 48 winners of the TSN Award.
10. Leo "The Lip" Durocher 1939-1973
3739 Games, 2008 Wins, 1709 Losses, .540
Brooklyn Dodgers 1939-1946
New York Giants 1948-1955
Chicago Cubs 1966-1972
Houston Astros 1972-1973
Only NL manager to lead two teams during one season (1948, 1972)
3x TSN Manager of the Year (1939, 1951, 1954)
3 NL Pennants (1941, 1951, 1954)
1 World Series Trophy (1954)
Hall of Fame (1994)
9. Earl Weaver 1968-1986
2541 Games, 1480 Wins, 1060 Losses, .583
Baltimore Orioles 1968-1982, 1985-1986
Holds AL record for career Ejections (98)
2x TSN Manager of the Year (1977, 1979)
6 AL East Titles (1969-1971, 1973, 1974, 1979)
4 AL Pennants (1969-1971, 1979)
1 World Series Trophy (1970)
Hall of Fame (1996)
8. Walter "Smokey" Alston 1954-1976
3658 Games, 2040 Wins, 1613 Losses, .558
Brooklyn Dodgers 1954-1957
Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1976
3x TSN Manager of the Year (1955, 1959, 1963)
1 NL West Title (1974)
7 NL Pennants (1955, 1956, 1969, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1974)
4 World Series Trophies (1955, 1959, 1963, 1965)
Hall of Fame (1983)
7. Casey "The Old Perfessor" Stengel 1934-1965
3766 Games, 1905 Wins, 1842 Losses, .508
Brooklyn Dodgers 1934-1936
Boston Bees 1938-1940
Boston Braves 1941-1943
New York Yankees 1949-1960
New York Mets 1962-1965
Holds MLB record for World Series Trophies (7)
Holds MLB record for Pennants (10)
Holds MLB record for consecutive World Series Trophies (5)
3x TSN Manager of the Year (1949, 1953, 1958)
10 AL Pennants (1949-1953, 1955-1958, 1960)
7 World Series Trophies (1949-1953, 1956, 1958)
Hall of Fame (1966)
6. Anthony "Tony" La Russa 1979-present
4722 Games, 2522 Wins, 2197 Losses, .534
Chicago White Sox 1979-1986
Oakland Athletics 1986-1995
St. Louis Cardinals 1996-present
5th of 5 AL managers to lead two teams during one season (1986)
Won inaugural BBWAA American League Manager of the Year (1983)
3x AL Manager of the Year (1983, 1988, 1992)
TSN Manager of the Year (1983)
2x TSN American League Manager of the Year (1988, 1992)
NL Manager of the Year (2002)
NL Wild Card (2002)
6 NL Central Titles (1996, 2000, 2002, 2004-2006)
5 AL West Titles (1983, 1988-1990, 1992)
3 AL Pennants (1988-1990)
2 NL Pennants (2004, 2006)
2 World Series Trophies (1989, 2006)
5. Robert "Bobby" Cox 1978-present
4295 Games, 2384 Wins, 1908 Losses, .555
Atlanta Braves 1978-1981
Toronto Blue Jays 1982-1985
Atlanta Braves 1990-present
Holds MLB record for career Post-Season Appearances (15)
Holds MLB record for career Ejections (132)
AL Manager of the Year (1985)
3x NL Manager of the Year (1991, 2004, 2005)
Won final TSN Manager of the Year Award for entire MLB (1985)
7x TSN National League Manager of the Year (1991, 1993, 1999, 2002-2005)
In line to win NL's inaugural Wild Card (1994)
11 NL East Titles (1995-2005)
3 NL West Titles (1991-1993)
1 AL East Title (1985)
5 NL Pennants (1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1999)
1 World Series Trophy (1995)
4. John "Little Napolean" McGraw 1899-1932
4711 Games, 2763 Wins, 1948 Losses, .586
Baltimore Orioles 1899-1902
New York Giants 1902-1932
Holds MLB record for Pennants (10)
Holds MLB record for career Games Above .500 (815)
Holds MLB record for Ejections in a season with 13 (1905)
Holds NL record for Seasons Managed (32)
10 NL Pennants (1904, 1905, 1911-1913, 1917, 1921-1924)
3 World Series Trophies (1905, 1921, 1922)
Hall of Fame (1983)
3. "Marse" Joe McCarthy 1926-1950
3487 Games, 2125 Wins, 1333 Losses, .615
Chicago Cubs 1926-1930
New York Yankees 1931-1946
Boston Red Sox 1948-1950
Holds MLB record for career Winning Percentage (.615)
Holds MLB record for World Series Trophies (7)
Won inaugural TSN Manager of the Year Award (1936)
3x TSN Manager of the Year (1936, 1938, 1943)
8 AL Pennants (1932, 1936-1939, 1941-1943)
1 NL Pennant (1929)
7 World Series Trophies (1932, 1936-1939, 1941, 1943)
Hall of Fame (1957)
2. Sparky "Captain Hook" Anderson 1970-1995
4030 Games, 2194 Wins, 1834 Losses, .545
Cincinnati Reds 1970-1978
Detroit Tigers 1979-1995
2x AL Manager of the Year (1984, 1987)
TSN American League Manager of the Year (1987)
5 NL West Titles (1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976)
2 AL East Titles (1984, 1987)
4 NL Pennants (1970, 1972, 1975, 1976)
1 AL Pennant (1984)
3 World Series Trophies (1975, 1976, 1984)
Hall of Fame (2000)
1. Jospeh "Joe" Torre 1977-present
4116 Games, 2218 Wins, 1892 Losses, .540
New York Mets 1977-1981
Atlanta Braves 1982-1984
St. Louis Cardinals 1990-1995
New York Yankees 1996-2007
Los Angeles Dodgers 2008-present
2x AL Manager of the Year (1996, 1998)
TSN American League Manager of the Year (1998)
2 AL Wild Cards (1997, 2007)
10 AL East Titles (1996, 1998-2006)
2 NL West Titles (1982, 2007)
6 AL Pennants (1996, 1998-2001, 2003)
4 World Series Trophies (1996, 1998-2000)
Here are links to the entire 15-part series, The Top Ten Baseball Players:
The All-Time All-Stars
Managers
Starting Pitchers
Catchers
First Basemen
Second Basemen
Third Basemen
Shortstops
Left Fielders
Center Fielders
Right Fielders
Designated Hitters
Pinch Hitters
Utility Men
Relief Pitchers
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