Dodgers to Play Little Ball

It might not have been the recommendation that sealed Ned Colletti’s decision to hire Grady Little as the Dodgers’ manager Tuesday, but it certainly left an indelible mark on the team’s new general manager.

When Bill Mueller, the free-agent third baseman known for his gritty play and quiet leadership with the Boston Red Sox, heard that Little was being interviewed as a possible replacement for Jim Tracy, he phoned Colletti.

“He said, ‘I’ve played for some great managers, I’ve been lucky, but Grady Little might be the best manager I’ve ever played for,’ ” said Colletti, the San Francisco assistant general manager when Mueller played for the Giants from 1996-2000.

“Knowing how [Mueller] goes about his business, it was a convincing call. And this was from a man who played for [Chicago Cub and former Giant manager] Dusty Baker, who is one of the greatest players’ managers ever.”

Asked to elaborate on his conversation with Mueller, whom the Dodgers are pursuing, Colletti said the veteran infielder praised Little’s “communication skills, the fact that he’s even-keeled, never too high, never too low. He knows the players are the most important part of the room. He managed every situation differently but handled people the same.”

Little, who managed the Red Sox to 188 victories in two seasons before being fired after his controversial decision to keep ace Pedro Martinez in Game 7 of the 2003 American League championship series, said he’s able to communicate so well with players, coaches, front-office executives and the media “because I talk so slow. It’s easy for them to understand what I’m saying, and they don’t miss a thing.”

It probably doesn’t hurt that Little, 55, a native of Abilene, Texas, who lives on one of the famed golf courses at Pinehurst (N.C.) Country Club, has a folksy, homespun way about him, a relaxed, easygoing manner that makes him easy to approach.

And then there’s that accent. It’s definitely Southern drawl, but with a hint of bayou lilt and Texas twang. Asked whether the accent was more West Texas or Carolina, Little, who once cultivated cotton on a 330-acre farm in Texas, joked, “Maybe it’s Louisiana -- halfway in between.”

Said Stan Kasten, the former Atlanta Brave president: “I love Grady Little. He’s one of those guys we would have considered to replace Bobby Cox. How can I say more about a person than that?”

Cox just completed his 15th season in Atlanta, winning his 11th consecutive division title, so Little, who managed 16 years in the minor leagues, 10 in the Braves’ system, never had a chance to replace him.

There was some question whether Little would get another chance to replace any manager after the way his brief Boston tenure ended.

In the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, with the Red Sox leading the New York Yankees, 5-2, Derek Jeter doubled, and Bernie Williams singled him home to make it 5-3.

Little visited Martinez, whose pitch count had reached 115. He let Martinez, who had given up five hits to the previous six batters, decide what to do, and Martinez said he would keep pitching.

Hideki Matsui doubled Williams to third, and Jorge Posada dropped a bloop double into shallow center to score the tying runs. Yankee third baseman Aaron Boone later won it in the 11th with his dramatic home run against Boston reliever Tim Wakefield.

Little was heavily criticized in the media, and New England’s notoriously rabid fans crushed him on sports-radio talk shows. Then-General Manager Theo Epstein, under orders from Boston owner John Henry and President Larry Lucchino, fired Little 11 days after the fateful Game 7.

“He won’t let that affect him at all,” said San Diego Padre Manager Bruce Bochy, who employed Little as his bullpen coach in 1996. “I spoke to him after that game, and it’s one of those situations where it’s a tough market, and someone had to be a scapegoat.

“You do your preparation, and you do what you think is right. If it works out, great, if not, someone is going to be second-guessed. I don’t know how you second-guess bloop hits.... It was a tough situation, but he has too much confidence in what he does to let that bother him.”

Little said that Game 7 defeat “was in the past the day after the season was over as far as I was concerned,” but he admitted he wondered whether his bitter ending in Boston would prevent him from getting another job as a big league manager.

“You always have doubts, because there’s not many of these positions,” Little said. “To be considered for one is an honor. To get one, with the number of people who are capable of doing it, is a longshot.”

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Grady Little profile

A capsule look at the new Dodger manager

* Age: 55, born March 30, 1950, in Abilene, Texas.

* Last job: Roving catching instructor with the Chicago Cubs, joining the club in 2004 as a scouting consultant and assistant to General Manager Jim Hendry.

* Major league manager: Led the Boston Red Sox to 93-69 and 95-67 records in 2002 and 2003, finishing second in the American League East to the New York Yankees both seasons. Won the wild card in 2003, and eventually lost to Yankees in Game 7 of the American League championship series.

* Past jobs: Served on major league coaching staffs with the Red Sox, San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians. A former minor league catcher, he managed 16 years in the minors, 10 in the Atlanta Brave organization.

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Dodger managers AL (After Lasorda)

Grady Little became the seventh manager of the Dodgers since the team moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958 and the fifth since Tom Lasorda left the dugout in 1996. How each of the last four Dodger managers has fared:

Bill Russell

1996-98

173-149 (.537)

* Had the tough task of following Walter Alston and Lasorda.

Glenn Hoffman

1998

47-41 (.534)

* Took over after Russell was fired midway through 1998 season.

Davey Johnson

1999-2000

163-161 (.503)

* Led the team to a second-place finish in the division in 2000.

Jim Tracy

2001-05

427-383 (.527)

* Led Dodgers to the playoffs in 2004, their first trip since 1995.