American Association Daily provides insights, features, and recaps of the action from around the American Association of Professional Baseball League, as well as player and coaching profiles and transactions. In this edition, Robert Pannier looks at the 12 managers in the American Association, explaining why this group makes the American Association the best independent baseball league.

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No Better Collection of Managers Than in the American Association

I will start this article with a bold proclamation. You are not going to find a better group of managers in any professional league in baseball, including at the Major League level, than you will in the American Association. Now, before you close this article and call me an idiot, I am going to back that statement up, demonstrating that what has made the American Association the premier independent league is the 12 men manning the dugouts each night.

It Starts with 12

If you think about it, 12 is a great number. Jesus had 12 disciples. There were 12 tribes of Israel. There are 12 archangels, 12 months of the year, and 12 candy bars that are worth eating (sorry Almond Joy. You just don’t make the cut.)

While the number of managers in the American Association is set by the number of teams in the league.. the reality is that there is no better group that you are going to find anywhere. Consider these stats for a moment. There are less than 10 men who have won a thousand games or more as an independent baseball managers. Four of those men – George Tsamis (Kane County Cougars), Joe Calfapietra (Kansas City Monarchs), Butch Hobson (Chicago Dogs), and Greg Tagert (Gary SouthShore RailCats) – manage in the American Association.

Winnipeg Goldeyes Manager Rick Forney has over 830 victories, leaving him less than 170 wins away from reaching that mark, something he will likely reach in the next three seasons That will mean that more than half of all the independent baseball managers with a thousand victories will reside in the American Association.

Bound for History

These are not just managers who have proven themselves to be great at what they do, but who have proven that they can do it for 15 years or more.

Then there are the managers who are putting up impressive win totals, but simply do not have enough seasons under their belt to reach historic marks. Lincoln Saltdogs manager Brett Jodie went over the 600-win plateau this season, and will easily eclipse the thousand win mark before this decade is over. He has a championship in the Atlantic League and will win one in this league at some point. He is just that good.

Sioux City Explorers manager Steve Montgomery is just two victories short of reaching the 400-win plateau in his seventh season. He is the only manager in American Association history to twice have teams reach the 70-win plateau (2015, 2018).

These Guys Are Good

Then there is the group that is early in their managerial careers. Sioux Falls Canaries manager Mike Meyer has earned over 150 victories in his fourth season at the helm, making him the second winningest manager in the team’s nearly 30-year history. Meyer has a Manager of the Year award under his belt (2020), served as intern manager when the Canaries won the championship in 2008, and was the pitching coach for the Laredo Lemurs when they won the title in 2015.

Milwaukee Milkmen manager Anthony Barone is in just his second season with the team, but already has a championship title to boast about and has the team one game away from earning their second straight trip to the playoffs. This, despite the fact that he has lost nearly a dozen players to affiliate clubs this season.

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks manager Chris Coste has a World Series title he earned with the Philadelphia Phillies, and now has the RedHawks in the playoffs in his second season with the team. This despite the fact that serving as the manager in Fargo is just a part-time gig, as Coste is also the head baseball coach at Concordia College.

Cleburne Railroaders manager Logan Watkins is the newest skipper in the league, taking over the team on June 30. However, Watkins has shown his skills right away, leading the team to a 31-24 record in his brief managerial career, and has the Railroaders on the verge of their first playoff appearance in franchise history.

Then there is the job performed by Dave Peterson of the Houston Apollos. Peterson has a professional title under his belt, winning the Pecos League championship last summer. Some will look at the 15-78 mark and think that the Houston skipper should be left out of this group, but he has been remarkable this year.

Using players from the Pecos League, a step or two beneath the American Association talent level, he has put together a makeshift team that has battled in every contest this season. Despite suffering a 17- and a 13-game losing streak, this team has never quit, and recently won their first two series of the year. He has not only demonstrated in incredible ability to motivate and keep his team focused, but has helped to develop some talent that teams in this league will be actively looking to add to their roster for 2022.

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Better Than Anywhere Else

It is important to keep in mind that a manager an independent baseball is much different than that in affiliate ball, even at the Major League level. These managers not only control what is going on during games on the field, but are the GM of the team as well. It is their responsibility to put together a roster, and there are not 12 better you are going to find at building rosters.

Some will argue that Major League managers are the best of the best, and I would have agreed with that 20 years ago. However, sabermetrics has changed baseball significantly. While not true of every club, far too many teams are using statistics and mathematics to determine how to manage games. This can be very successful, but it also limits what the manager of the club is required to do. They are simply following the numbers.

This is not true in the American Association. Managers are expected to manage. They are in complete control of their team. That is true of some clubs in MLB and is true in other independent leagues as well, but you are not going to find a league where every manager is at the level found in the American Association. This is the very best of the best. Sorry to say for other leagues, but this 12 makes the American Association the top league in independent baseball.

By Robert Pannier