Gene Mauch's Double-Play Genius

by mattwelch on Dec 12, 2009 6:35 PM PST

The new baseball book I'm most excited about this offseason is Evaluating Baseball Managers: A Comprehensive History and Performance Analysis, 1876-2008, by The Hardball Times' Chris Jaffe. The only other book I'm aware of that takes a comprehensive/rigorous look at field generals is The Bill James Guide to Baseball Managers: From 1870 to Today; which, while indispensable, is more of a conversation-starter than finisher.

Jaffe is parceling out parts of the book in dribs and drabs online, and one of these essays should be of strong interest to any of you who share my fascination with the second-best manager in Angels history: Gene Mauch. The whole piece is worth your attention; after the jump I'll just excerpt a bit having to do with Mauch's brainiacal obsession with the double-play:

Not only did he try to prevent his batters from hitting into them, but he wanted his defenders performing them. [...] [T]he following formula [...]determines which defenses did the best job turning double plays based on opportunity: DP/(H-2B-3B-HR+BB+HB-SH-SB-CS). It is double plays turned divided by the times someone should have been on first base. The following managers' squads were the most adept at turning two:

Most Double Plays Turned
Danny Murtaugh    0.497
Earl Weaver       0.531
Gene Mauch        0.591
Casey Stengel     0.667
Whitey Herzog     0.670

Murtaugh scores the highest, but he had uber-whiz Bill Mazeroski at second base. Earl Weaver also benefited from spending his entire career with one team and a core of defensive specialists up the middle. In contrast, Mauch, constantly created new double play combinations. Account for that, and Mauch may have been baseball's best at coaxing double plays from his fielders. He found the best gloves he could, coached them to focus on the double play, and had them positioned so they could pull it off. [...]

By the [...] double play formula, Gene Mauch ran the two best teams in history at this play. Incredibly, they were separate franchises with completely different middle infielders – the 1979 Twins and 1985 Angels. Both turned a double play in 14.9% of all opportunities while no other units are over 14.7%. Mauch managed two of the only seven teams in the last half-century that turned over 200 double plays. With each of the four teams he managed, he set franchise defensive records that still stand for most double plays in a season: 179 with the 1961 Phillies, 193 with the 1970 Expos, 203 with the 1979 Twins, and 202 with the 1985 Angels.

Delving into team splits data makes Mauch's interest in players who could make the double play even more apparent. Add together splits at Baseball-Reference.com that includes a runner on first base (a runner only on first, runners on first and second, runners on the corners, and bases loaded), and use the formula DP/(PA-K-BB-HR-HB-SB-CS-PK) to determine how successful squads were at turning this play when they had the opportunity. Six Mauch teams led the league; those squads featured five different starting second baseman and four shortstops. Another half-dozen Mauch-managed clubs came in second place.
Due to his intense focus on the double play, Mauch's teams greatly benefited from this play. Only once did his batters hit into more than 140 double plays in a season while Mauch's defenders pulled off at least 141 double plays every season except his rookie campaign and the strike shortened 1981 season. Each one of the 26 teams Mauch managed pulled off more double plays than they hit into.

Holy crap, right? By all means read the whole thing. He's got sections in the book about all the key Angels managers, so look for some more excerpty goodness in the future.

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How about his need to sacrifice bunt.

Seven players on his 1979 Twins cracked double digits in sacrifices. The team’s second basemen (not just the starter, but the total performance from everyone playing that position) combined for 36 sacrifice hits. Since 1956, no other team’s second basemen have cracked 28. That squad’s third basemen had twenty bunts, tied for the most by any squad in the Retrosheet era

Similarly, the most bunts ever attained by a team’s catchers came from Mauch’s 1982 Angels, with 24. Only one other team had more than nineteen. Bob Boone, Mauch’s starting catcher that year, bunted more times than his previous six seasons combined.

Could you imagine the shit storm Tony Larussa would see if he asked Albert Pujols to bunt? Likewise Girardi if he asked A-rod or Tex? If these guys played for Mauch it would be expected of them

Nick would be proud.

by halofan4life on Dec 12, 2009 6:52 PM PST reply actions

As if my must read stack wasn't already taller than my nightstand.

May have to move this up in the rotation though.

I would imagine Scioscia will be reading it too. We’re unlikely to get his views but I’d be interested in hearing yours when you’ve consumed it.

Driven into right-center field, Erstad says he has it...the Angels, world champions!

by LAASurfin on Dec 12, 2009 7:35 PM PST reply actions

Both turned a double play in 14.9% of all opportunities while no other units are over 14.7%.

…..
Wow?

His genius really engineered that whopping .2% more double plays…. and how many World Series rings?

I brought sexy back, but they only gave me store credit....

by PhiSlamma on Dec 12, 2009 7:37 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

DICK.

Do it for Nick '09

by BryanHarvey'sMoustache on Dec 12, 2009 8:06 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs

NO ...it was Gene.

by Deadend on Dec 12, 2009 8:40 PM PST reply actions

see that reply button under my comment?

yeah, use it.

Do it for Nick '09

by BryanHarvey'sMoustache on Dec 12, 2009 11:13 PM PST up reply actions

BE the reply button

I remember my Dad espousing the genius of Gene Mauch. He may have been a fantastic strategist and innovator (I was told he came up with the double switch), it seems to me that he over managed in the style of Buck Showalter (CAVEAT — no one I know would ever confuse Buck with genius).

The collapse of the ’64 Phillies and the ’82 Angels are examples of this (there are other examples as well). For all of his emphasis on “small ball” and defense, when push came to shove, he used starters on short rest instead of doing what got them there in the first place. IMHO I think that sense of panic spread to the players and led to the collapse of those two teams (I do not blame him for ’86, however. That was a different kettle of fish).

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.

by Moondoggy on Dec 13, 2009 12:53 AM PST up reply actions

The '64 Phillies and '82 Angels

are not examples of over managing. They are examples (along with the Angels of the past few years) of what happens when your team does not hit. The ‘82 Angels didn’t lose because John & Kison pitched on 3 days rest. They lost because Carew-Downing-Foli-Grich-Reggie Jackson were a combined 13 for 85. That’s five starters hitting under .200 for the ALCS. The ’82 Angels also had a lousy bullpen.

All that aside, Mauch was able to take severely flawed teams as far as they could go. A little break here or there could’ve changed history and put Mauch in the HOF. For all you Mauch haters out there, here’s the dirty little secret….Mike Scioscia manages EXACTLY like Gene Mauch. Except for the fact that Mauch would’ve strangled Doug Eddings to death in 2005.

by njhalofan on Dec 13, 2009 9:01 AM PST up reply actions

Mauch was brutal in the '64 stretch

Two days’ rest? C’mon.

He also deserves more, and not less, criticism for not getting more out of a core young Phillie talent base that included not just Dick Allen and Johnny Callison but also Fergie Jenkins, Alex Johnson, Rick Wise, Cookie Rojas, Grant Jackson and more.

But yes, he’s a borderline HoF case, I think.

by mattwelch on Dec 13, 2009 9:20 AM PST up reply actions

Please don't misunderstand me, I was a fan of Gene Mauch

I was just speculating on the impact of micromanaging and why his genius may have been self-defeating. Just a couple of comments though:

1. I disagree with NJ above. Soth does NOT manage exactly like Mauch. If anything Soth tends to dance with girl that got him there even when it’s clear to everyone that’ she’s passed out. He is loyal to a fault.

That said, during his career, I was fiercely loyal to the little general and if those numbskulls had hit in ’82 or gotten a strike in ’86, Gene would be in the HOF for sure.

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.

by Moondoggy on Dec 13, 2009 11:11 AM PST up reply actions

The truth about the '64 Phillies

Back then, teams went with a 4 man rotation. Three days rest was the norm. Going into a home game against Cincy on Sept 21, the Phils were up 6.5 games. Here’s what happened:
Sept 21 vs Cin: L 1-0 Mahaffey starts for Phils. Phils lead by 5.5 gms.
Sept 22 vs Cin: L 9-2 Short starts for Phils on 3 days rest. Phils lead by 4.5 gms.
Sept 23 vs Cin: L 6-4 Bennet starts for Phils. Phils lead by 3.5 gms.
Sept 24 vs Mil: L 5-3 Bunning starts for Phils on 3 days rest. Phils lead by 3 gms.
Sept 25 vs Mil: L 7-5 Short starts on 2 days rest. His line- 7.1 IP, 2 ER. Phils lead by 1.5 gms.
Sept 26 vs Mil: L 6-4 Mahaffey starts for Phils. Phils lead by 0.5 gms.
Sept 27 vs Mil: L 14-8 Bunning starts on 2 days rest. 3 IP, 7 ER. Phils down by 1 gm.
Sept 28 at Stl: L 5-1 Short starts on 2 days rest. 5.1 IP, 3 ER. Gibson gives up 1 run on 5 hits. Phils down 1.5 gms.
Sept 29 at Stl: L 4-2 Bennet starts for Phils. Phils still down by 1.5 gms.
Sept 30 at Stl: L 8-5 Bunning starts on 2 days rest. 3.1 IP, 5 ER. Curt Simmons threw a shutout thru 6 IP for Stl. Phils down 2.5 gms with 2 games to play.
Season over for Phils. So, Mauch pitched Short and Bunning twice each on 2 days rest. For Short, he pitched well enough to win the first time, and the second time Gibson shut down the Phils. For Bunning, the first time he got lit up. The second time the season was on the line for the Phils. Mauch had to go with his best guy. There are at least 4 or 5 games where if the Phils had scored some runs or if the bullpen hadn’t blown 3 of those games they would’ve went to the WS..

by njhalofan on Dec 13, 2009 6:31 PM PST up reply actions

For the Mauch-haters here

Compare his record with the Angels with John McNamara, who managed the same group of guys.

by mattwelch on Dec 13, 2009 5:22 AM PST reply actions

I was just speculating on the impact of micromanaging and why his genius may have been self-defeating. Just a couple of comments though:

2. In addition to ’64 and ’82, there were 23 and 20 game losing streaks in ’61 and ’69 respectively. I was making a correlation between micromanaging and choking under pressure in key situations and comparing him to Showalter (no genius is he) who micrmanaged three teams into the ground (NY, AZ, TX)

That said, during his career, I was fiercely loyal to the little general and if those numbskulls had hit in ’82 or gotten a strike in ’86, Gene would be in the HOF for sure.

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.

by Moondoggy on Dec 13, 2009 11:13 AM PST reply actions

my computer is having a stroke...please forgive the repeat post

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.

by Moondoggy on Dec 13, 2009 11:18 AM PST up reply actions

Respectfully disagree with Moondoggy

The first point about Soth being loyal to a fault. That’s exactly how Mauch was. He lived and died with Luis Sanchez in 1982 and Donnie Moore in 1986. In Game 4, 1986 Bobby Grich thought for sure he was going to be pinch hit for but Mauch stayed with him and he got the game winning hit.

The second point about 23 and 20 game losing streaks in ’61 and ’69. In 1960, nobody wanted to manage the Phils. They finished in last place in 1959 and their manager quit after the first game in 1960. Mauch saw it as an opportunity. In 1961, the Phils finished with a record of 47-107. In 1962, they were 81-80. In 1969, Montreal was an expansion team. There was no free agency. The only players you could get were either way past their prime veterans or rookie cast offs. The Expos finished the season 52-110. In 1970, they were 73-89 – a 21 game improvement.

Don’t get me wrong. Mauch made some questionable moves. Every manager does (including Soth). But in the end, the difference between Gene Mauch and Mike Scioscia is one game. Scioscia won a Game 7, Mauch didn’t. If the Angels had lost Game 7 in 2002 would Mike Scioscia now be called “the Gene Mauch of the 21st century?”

by njhalofan on Dec 13, 2009 7:31 PM PST reply actions