A Few New Managers Actually <i> Are </i> New

Spring training opened this year with 10 new managers. The refreshing thing about it is some of these new managers are actually new.

Often, when teams fire their manager, they hire someone with previous major league experience. Now some owners and general managers, looking for new ideas and fresh attitudes, are bringing in a young breed of managers.

When the season opens, four first-time managers will be on hand--Jimy Williams of the Toronto Blue Jays, Lou Piniella of the New York Yankees, Hal Lanier of the Houston Astros and Jim Leyland of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Six other teams open with different managers than they had at last year’s training camps.

The Baltimore Orioles will have Earl Weaver, the Minnesota Twins go north with Ray Miller, the Texas Rangers start with Bobby Valentine, the San Francisco Giants have Roger Craig, the Atlanta Braves leave West Palm Beach with Chuck Tanner and the San Diego Padres depart Yuma, Ariz., with Steve Boros.

Of those six managers, only Weaver and Tanner have extensive major league experience.

Miller, hired last June to replace Billy Gardner, and Valentine, who took over for Doug Rader last May, are running their first training camps. Craig, who managed San Diego in 1978 and ‘79, will start his first full season with the Giants after replacing Jim Davenport in September. Boros, assuming his second major league job, managed the Oakland A’s in 1983 and was fired 44 games into the ’84 season.

Of the new managers, Piniella will probably have the toughest time just keeping his job. The way Yankee owner George Steinbrenner changes managers, Piniella will probably have to have his club off to a fast start just to keep the pressure off him. Steinbrenner still has three former managers under contract--Billy Martin, General Manager Clyde King and Gene Michael--who are waiting in the wings should Piniella falter.

Piniella, the Yankees’ hitting instructor since retiring from the team as a player in 1984, foresees no problems managing for Steinbrenner.

“Maybe I’m going to be the guy to break the mold and stay here for a number of years,” Piniella, 42, said.

Jimy Williams, 42, replaces Bobby Cox, who in 1985 led the Blue Jays to their first ever American League East title and moved to Atlanta as Braves general manager. Williams, like Piniella, will have a strong team. He managed six seasons in the minors and guided Salt Lake City to the Pacific Coast League championship in 1979. Williams had been a coach for the Blue Jays since 1980 and was Cox’s right-hand man the last four years.

Lanier, hired in place of Bob Lillis, had been a coach with St. Louis since 1981 and managed in the Cardinals’ system for five years before that. In 1980, he managed Springfield, Ill., to the American Assn. championship. Lanier, 42, a former major league infielder, has vowed to turn the Astros into a running team.

Leyland, long touted as top-grade managerial material, has a hard task ahead of him. The former White Sox coach inherits a Pirate club that finished last in the NL East the last two years. Leyland, 41, has a young team to work with. He promises an entertaining brand of baseball and one that will keep people guessing.

Weaver managed the Orioles for 15 years before retiring after the ’82 season. Baltimore owner Edward Bennett Williams coaxed him out of the broadcast booth to replace Joe Altobelli. Weaver’s biggest task will be rebuilding the club’s pitching staff, whose overall ERA plummeted to an all-time low of 4.38.

Miller will look to perform the same magic with the Twins pitching staff as he did with Baltimore’s as the Orioles’ pitching coach. Minnesota helped itself in the off-season, plugging holes at second base (Chris Pittaro) and left field (Billy Beane), but the Twins need massive help in the bullpen.

Valentine, who turns 36 in May, is the youngest manager in the majors. He was hired away from the Mets by the Rangers and is considered one of the bright young baseball people around. He has a long road ahead of him with the last-place Rangers.

Craig, the pitching coach for the 1984 World Series champion Tigers, also faces problems with the Giants, who finished last in the NL West. He is attempting to teach some of his pitchers the split-finger fastball which Detroit hurlers Jack Morris and Dan Petry had so much success with.

Tanner, a manager for 16 years with the White Sox, A’s and Pirates, must rebuild a Braves team which in 1982 won the NL West title. No player, with the exception of two-time NL MVP Dale Murphy and possibly Bob Horner, are safe from trades.

Boros was hired in February to replace Dick Williams, who resigned. Boros’ biggest task with San Diego will be communicating with his players, something for which Williams was faulted.