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US Presswire photo Jim Riggleman goes from a big-league manager to a Class AA skipper. |
So while Riggleman's chances of managing in the big leagues again are slim, he will get an opportunity to manage again in 2012. In the minors.
The Reds have hired Riggleman as skipper of the Class AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos, a source close to the 59-year-old confirmed this evening.
The gig obviously represents a significant demotion for someone with 1,486 games of major-league managing experience, but it's still a managing gig and it reunites Riggleman with one of his former bosses. Reds general manager Walt Jocketty used to hold the GM position with St. Louis, where Riggleman served as minor-league field coordinator.
Though his teams had winning records in only two of his first 11 seasons managing the Padres, Cubs, Mariners and Nationals, Riggleman's 2011 Nats were 38-37 after a dramatic, 1-0, walk-off win over Seattle on June 23 that represented their 11th win in 12 games. But unhappy with the lack of commitment Mike Rizzo had shown him, Riggleman informed his GM he would resign unless Rizzo was willing to talk to him about a contract extension. Rizzo refused, so Riggleman walked away moments after the game, leaving the Nationals' clubhouse stunned.
He did find work soon after, serving as a part-time scout for the Giants (managed by his close friend, Bruce Bochy) for the second half of the season.
Now, another close confidant of Riggleman has given him another chance to manage, albeit two levels down from the big leagues.
42 comments:
{crickets chirping}
a gig is a gig
So is it longer than a one year deal? Just sayin'.
I'm actually more surprised someone named a baseball team "Blue Wahoos." I'm sure it has some relevance to the Pensacola area, but for 99 percent of the country, that's a yikes ...
At least he has a gig, though it's quite a comedown. I'm glad he found something because I thought he was a nice guy. But I'm disappointed in him for quitting on the Nats in mid-season.
Nix signed with the Phils, Reyes is probably signing with the fish - does anybody ever sign with a team that is NOT in our division??? You know they are both going to kill us.
This is a mercy job from the Reds. Riggleman is done as a major league manager.
Ladson: I have confirmed that the Nats made an offer to LHP Mark Buehrle. Not sure of the dollar figures. RHP Roy Oswalt still in the mix.
Bill Ladson: I was also informed that Prince Fielder is not a target for the #Nats. They already have Adam LaRoche and Michael Morse at first base.
Good for him, he had a choice whether he wanted to manage or not and he chooses to accept this position. The kids will be lucky to have him and his experience.
MLB Network reporting that the Marlins have signed Jose Reyes for six years, $112 million. $18.67 million a year for Reyes? I’m very glad the Nationals didn’t do that deal. No, thanks.
John C.. and on the same report.. Hanley is NOT happy.. Good! I hope it's a powder keg down in Miami!
That Southern League is one hot,muggy league. Good luck to you Sad Man. I think Stairs is available as a DH.
"If I don't get my salary bumped up to $2000 a month, I'm not gettin on that bus to Chatanooga!!"
Speaking of the Marlins (who have just signed Jose Reyes, apparently), this is quite interesting:
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/54935/?ref=baseball
The title: "S.E.C. Subpoenas Details on Marlins’ Stadium Financing"
And the S.E.C. that issued the subpoenas was not the Southeastern Conference...
Now that Stan Kasten is a credentialed member of the media at the Dallas meetings, maybe he will try to interview Mark Lerner!
Can we trade for Hanley? I'm really not looking forward to having Ian Desmond and his .298 OBP at SS next year.
Sect 222: but he's a great leader....
New team new stadium on the water beach town. There are worse gigs we are pretty excited About the team moving here. I'm excited about Riggs coming, pretty cool addition. Wahoo!
I always thought that Riggs was a strong teacher. He always seemed to be the guy brought in to pick up the pieces of someone else's mess. I wish him well.
There are a hundred old veteran minor league guys coaching in the minors. Still riding the buses in hope of getting a shot at the "The Show." They would give their right arm for the shot that Riggleman got. And he threw it all down the tubes in a paranoid temper tantrum.
On another very interesting topic: AP says Reyes is going to the Marlins; $106m for 6yrs.
To expand on the thoughts of sec 222:
{tumbleweeds tumbling}
Papelbon, Bell, Reyes, Nix - things just are not going to be any easier, are they?
... and on another front, there's this: http://on.wsj.com/vasINW.
... take that, Loria and Samson. Couldn't happen to a more deserving pair of carpetbaggers.
Go Nats!!
1A: ;-)
Gotta love that career path.
June 2011: 11/12 wins, the Nats on a roll, putting himself for a managing job in 2012 (if not DC somewhere).
Dec 2011 (6 months later): AA coach in Pensacola.
Ouch.
Riggleman's quitting was some paranoid temper tantrum? Uhhmm, no. He walked away from money and a hard to come by job over principle. Riggleman was right to quit, in my mind, and it was his right, an objective right, to quit. The only temper tantrums are from folks who have a problem with it, Rizzo included. And post Riggleman's "career suicide" as Zuck called it he's now been hired by 2 clubs in less than a year so he's likely not feeling as if his reputation is shattered.
dfh21
dfh21,
Oh yeah, that's a great career situation to be in at 59 years of age starting again at AA. I agree that was a brilliant move by Riggleman.
dfh21, well said.
AA managers are important in an organization's development process--these are their best prospects. He may or may not be back in the majors someday, but if he is to do so, this will be a good place to stay relevant until the right opening comes along.
jd -- It is not a question of whether you or anyone else thinks Riggleman made a bad career move. Riggleman knew he was walking away from a managerial gig and he knew it would be hard to get another one (he went 9 years between managing gigs before), he thought the siutation not tolerable so he quit. He had a right to quit. It's his life. You or I may not have made the call he made, but so what.
dfh21
In fact, how about a pool on where he *does* manage in the majors again, if he does?
Early favorites might be Miama after Ozzie blows up, or the Mets, just because they are the Mets.
(tips hat, to dfh21....)
I am thinking he'ss be a bench coach in 2013, say in SF maybe, or the Mets, likely an NL club. And when the manager he's workign with gets axed, Riggleman is back at the helm. Look at history, Francona, Torre, McNamarra, LaRussa, Leyland . . . guys who have doen get chancers to do it again. His odds are as good as anyone's to land a manager job going forward. The Nats looked like cheap idiots for not picking up his option after they extended Rizzo for 5 years and left Riggleman hanging, they could have picked up the option and still fired the guy in the off-season and owed him a whopping $600K for his trouble but they were not ready to make than kind of commitment to a manager winning games with their lousy club. Fools.
I will not quit when I am, shockingly, seemingly ahead in NI. This is about the point where I start typing really stupid stuff. Have a great day all.
Go Nats!
dfh21
The Marlins were actually true to their word on expanding payroll and getting a frontline player in Reyes. I am very surprised. If it helps them sell a few dozen luxury suites then the strategy will pay-off. If they can't figure out a way to increase their revenues substantially, it could kill them down the road.
Now the interesting part will be how Hanley Ramirez is handled. Does Hanley move to 3rd base or to another team?
I am hearing the Nats have some interest in Michael Cuddyer. He certainly isn't a CF but could play RF. I hope the Nats pounce on Buehrle sooner than later to get the first big move done.
No inside knowledge but the bottom line in my opinion is Riggleman was never Rizzo's guy. Manny Acta was the one who brought Jim to DC at a time when Bowden, who was still the GM, wanted to bring in Willie Randolph. Rizzo was an assistant to Bowden until that whole Dominican thing blew up in Jimbo's face and Rizzo got the interim tag on his title. When the Nats decided to fire Acta in July 2009 Riggs was the logical guy on the staff to replace him and Rizzo "rewarded" him, after kicking a few tires for another manager, with a series of what amounts to one year contracts, i.e., little job security in a business that most everyone involved in is seeking. When Rizzo brought DJ in as an "advisor" for spring training I think Jim saw the handwriting on the wall..."you're not really my guy so get off to a slow start and we will replace you." When the Nats got to the start they did Rizzo could not make a move to Johnson nor did he have a reason to do so. At the same time Riggleman says "hey lets talk about my contract", Rizzo says no and Jim says "..know what, if I'm not your guy for next year or 2013 I'm not your guy for right now. Take this job and shove it."
Career suicide maybe, but I respect Jim Riggleman for sticking up for his principles.
I tell you, this is the biggest mystery of baseball. It's like making a choice, either you get a million dollars or you become cluster nun? In most cases that's an easy decision but Riggelman wants to make things tough on himself.
Hope he enjoys the lifestyle of class AA baseball, just another case of someone that tries to shot himself and instead of dying just cripples himself.
What's a cluster nun?
Yeah, I was wondering about that, too.
no matter how much the NATS screwed him over, which i think they def did... he deserves every minute of what he's getting... as a manager you dont quit on your players period... if you do, you're not fit to be a manager.
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