Acta vs Gonzales, and rookie managers in general

[Guest iramets]

On Opening Day, two rookie managers will face each other. Someone at Retrosheet has looked this up and found it's happened before plenty of times, but not so often as you might suspect. It happened only twice in the 46 years between Opening Day 1927 and OD 1973, but generally about once every two or three years through baseball history.

This seems an interesting oddity to me. A mere statistical oddity? Or an indication that, for whatever reason, MLB laid off hiring rookie managers between 1927 and 1973? If so, why would that have been?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Some long careers in there: Alston, Casey, Mack...

[Guest iramets]

Good one. Also only 8 teams per league most of that time, so those long-term managers would really be clogging up the works...

As the complete list shows, most of these came in 19th century, when by definition most managers would have been rookie managers:

"From the gamelog files, here are all the games wherein each manager
was managing his first big league game:

Not opening day (1 game)
2000-04-28 Joe Nossek CHA at Bob Melvin DET

Opening day for each team (34 games)
1995-04-26 Phil Regan BAL at Bob Boone KCA
1992-04-07 Butch Hobson BOS at Buck Showalter NYA
1985-04-09 Eddie Haas ATL at John Felske PHI
1983-04-04 Mike Ferraro CLE at Steve Boros OAK
1976-04-09 Karl Kuehl MON at Joe Frazier NYN
1973-04-06 Jack McKeon KCA at Bobby Winkles CAL
1956-04-17 Bobby Bragan PIT at Bill Rigney NY1
1949-04-19 Jack Onslow CHA at Red Rolfe DET
1927-04-15 George Moriarty DET at Dan Howley SLA
1927-04-12 Ray "Cracker" Schalk CHA at John "Jack" McCallister CLE
1914-04-16 Bill Phillips IND at Mordecai Brown SLF
1914-04-13 Larry Schlafly BUF at Otto Knabe BLF
1913-04-12 Miller Huggins SLN at Johnny Evers CHN
1910-04-14 Bill Dahlen BRO at Red Dooin PHI
1907-04-11 Billy Murray PHI at Dan McGann NY1
1901-04-24 Jimmy McAleer CLE at Clark Griffith CHA
1899-04-15 John Day NY1 at John McGraw BLN
1890-04-19 Jim Fogarty PHP at Buck Ewing NYP
1890-04-19 Henry Larkin CLP at Jack Rowe BFP
1890-04-17 George Frazier SR2 at Jim Kennedy BR4
1885-04-19 Ollie Caylor CN2 at Jim Hart LS2
1884-05-01 Jim Gifford IN2 at Jimmy Williams SL4
1884-05-01 Charlie Morton TL1 at Mike Walsh LS2
1884-05-01 Gus Schmelz CL5 at Will White CN2
1884-04-17 Ed Curtis ALT at Dan O'Leary CNU
1884-04-17 Mike Scanlon WSU at Bill Henderson BLU
1883-05-01 Jim Mutrie NY4 at Billy Barnie BL2
1882-05-02 Denny Mack LS2 at Ned Cuthbert SL4
1882-05-02 Al Pratt PT1 at Pop Snyder CN2
1882-05-01 Freeman Brown WOR at John Morrill BSN
1879-05-01 George Wright PRO at Jim McCormick CL2
1876-04-25 Al Spalding CHN at Jack Chapman LS1
1871-05-05 Harry Wright BS1 at Nick Young WS3
1871-05-04 Charlie Pabor CL1 at Bill Lennon FW1"

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

The non-opening day one caught my attention. Retrosheet sez Joe Nossek managed the White Sox for a week in 2000, right in the middle of the Jerry manuel era but B-R doesn't give Nossek credit. I guess Manuel was suspended or something.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

And now... The rest of the story...

]Start dates set for White Sox-Tigers penalties Associated Press DETROIT -- Detroit manager Phil Garner and Chicago manager Jerry Manuel, along with two players from each team, began serving suspensions Friday night for their parts in a brawl Saturday between the Tigers and White Sox at Comiskey Park. Garner and Manuel each drew eight-game penalties from Frank Robinson, baseball's vice president of on-field operations. The suspensions took effect as the White Sox began a series in Detroit. Bench coach Bob Melvin will manage the Tigers in Garner's absence. Bench coach Joe Nossek, who was fined but not suspended, will manage the White Sox. Detroit first base coach Juan Samuel drew a 15-game suspension which would have started Friday, but he decided to appeal his penalty. Tigers third baseman Dean Palmer began serving an eight-game suspension and reliever Doug Brocail started his four-game suspension. White Sox outfielder Carlos Lee and pitcher Bobby Howry each began serving three-game suspensions. In all, 16 members of the Tigers and White Sox were suspended, and another nine were fined. Because so many players were disciplined, the penalties were staggered so that teams were not left shorthanded. Detroit's Luis Polonia will begin serving a three-game suspension May 2; Robert Fick (five games), May 6; Juan Encarnacion (three), May 7; and Bobby Higginson (five), May 10. Karim Garcia (three) has since been sent to Triple-A Toledo and will begin serving his penalty if he is recalled. White Sox outfielder Magglio Ordonez (five games), pitcher Jim Parque (three), pitcher Keith Foulke (three), and pitcher Tanyon Sturtze (three) will begin serving their suspensions at staggered dates which weren't disclosed.

[Frayed Knot]

His supension was probably automatic based on the conduct of his team.
But I do wonder if the MLK & Ghandi quoting Manuel was out there mixing it up during the brawl.