Miami Marlins hire manager whose only managing experience is with a high school team
The Miami Marlins have a new manager who is literally a new manager.
General manager Dan Jennings will move out of the front office and into the dugout, the team announced Monday.
The #Marlins name Dan Jennings manager and Mike Goff bench coach.
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) May 18, 2015“There’s really an element of surprise to everybody here,” Jennings said at a news conference announcing the move. “It is out of the box, I will not deny that.”
Jennings has worked for the Marlins since 2002 as a front-office executive and became the general manager after the 2013 season.
He never played in the big leagues or minor leagues, but he got a tryout for the New York Yankees as a pitcher in 1984.
His last role on the bench was coaching an Alabama high school team before joining the Cincinnati Reds as a scout in 1986.
Mike Redmond was fired as manager on Sunday after the Marlins were swept by the Braves and fell to 16-22 on the season.
Since Jeffrey Loria bought the Marlins in 2002, the team has had eight managers (not including Brandon Hyde’s one-game stint as interim manager in 2011 after Edwin Rodríguez resigned).
Loria’s latest move brought derision on Twitter.
Making Dan Jennings the manager would be one way for the Marlins to avoid paying three managers at once.
— Adrian Ruhi (@adrianruhi) May 18, 2015Roger Dorn activating himself in Major League 2 > Dan Jennings hiring himself as Marlins manager
— Mike Oz (@mikeoz) May 18, 2015Dan Jennings is a good baseball man but he's not a manager. Please make Jeffrey Loria go away once and for all. #Marlins #MLB
— John Perrotto (@JPerrotto) May 18, 2015As Dan Jennings takes over as MIA manager w/out experience, faces greatest challenges of anyone since Jerry Coleman moved from SD booth '80.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) May 18, 2015Look at Dan Jennings, giving Jerry Jones ideas.
— Sam Mellinger (@mellinger) May 18, 2015I like the Marlins' hiring of Dan Jennings because it gives me hope that an MLB team still might call me to manage their team.
— Joe Posnanski (@JPosnanski) May 18, 2015That's so Jeffery Loria to name GM Dan Jennings the Marlins new manager. It's hilariously perfect.
— B.J. Rains (@BJRains) May 18, 2015Short distance between out of the box thinking and out of your mind thinking #Marlins
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) May 18, 2015To reach Jason McKee, call 816-234-4378 or send email to jmckee@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @JMcKeeKC.
This story was originally published May 18, 2015 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Miami Marlins hire manager whose only managing experience is with a high school team."