Sparky Anderson

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George Lee "Sparky" Anderson (born February 22, 1934 in Bridgewater, South Dakota) is ranked fourth all-time for career managerial wins in Major League Baseball (behind Connie Mack, John McGraw and Tony La Russa) and is the first manager to win the World Series while leading clubs in both leagues. He piloted the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third title in 1984 with the Detroit Tigers of the American League. It is interesting to note that either manager in the 1984 Series would have been the first to win in both leagues, since San Diego Padres (NL) manager Dick Williams had previously won the series with the Oakland Athletics (AL) in 1972 and 1973.

His record ended with the 2006 World Series, when St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa (who had previously won the World Series with the Oakland Athletics in 1989, and who considers Anderson his mentor) led his team to the title over the Detroit Tigers. Coincidentally, Tigers manager Jim Leyland could also have achieved this same feat, having won a championship while managing the Florida Marlins in 1997.

Contents 1 Playing career 2 Manager 3 Trivia 4 External links

[edit] Playing career

Anderson was a "good field, no-hit" middle infielder as a player. After an apprenticeship in the farm system of the Brooklyn Dodgers, he played one full season in the major leagues, as the regular second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1959. However, a .218 average with no power ended his big-league career at that point.

He played the next four seasons at Triple-A Toronto in the International League, but never got a second chance in the majors. Finally, in 1964, Anderson moved into the manager's job in Toronto and later handled minor league clubs at the A and Double-A levels, including a season (1968) in the Reds' minor league system. He made his way back to the majors in 1969 as a coach for the San Diego Padres. Finally, in 1970, Anderson was named manager of the Reds.

[edit] Manager

Sparky Anderson is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame

He won 102 games and the pennant in his first season, but then lost the World Series in five games to the Baltimore Orioles. After an injury-plagued 1971, the Reds came back and won another pennant in 1972, losing to the Oakland Athletics in the World Series. They took the National League West division title in 1973, then finished a close second to the Los Angeles Dodgers a year later.

Finally, in 1975, the Reds blew the division open by winning 108 games, swept the National League Championship Series and then edged the Boston Red Sox in a drama-filled, seven-game World Series. They repeated in 1976 by winning 102 games and ultimately sweeping the New York Yankees in the Series. During this time, Anderson became known as Captain Hook for his penchant for taking out a starting pitcher at the first sign of weakness and going to his bullpen, relying heavily on closers Will McEnaney and Rawly Eastwick.

When the aging Reds finished second to the Dodgers in each of the next two seasons, Anderson was fired. The Reds won the division title again in 1979 but lost three straight to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the League Championship Series. They would not make the playoffs again until they won the World Series in 1990.

He moved on to the young Detroit Tigers after being hired as their new manager on June 14, 1979. The Tigers became a winning club almost immediately, but didn't get into contention until 1983, when they finished second.

In 1984, Detroit opened the season 35-5 (a major league record) and breezed to a 104-58 record (a franchise record for wins). They swept the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and then beat the San Diego Padres in five games in the World Series for Anderson's third world title. After the season, Anderson won the first of his two Manager of the Year Awards with the Tigers.

Anderson led the Tigers to the majors' best record in 1987, but the team was upset in the ALCS by the Minnesota Twins. He won his second Manager of the Year Award that year. After contending again in 1988 (finishing second to Boston by one game in the AL East), the team collapsed a year later, losing a startling 103 games.

He probably did his best managerial job in 1991, when the Tigers finished last in batting average, first in batting strike outs and near the bottom of the league in most pitching categories, but still led their division in late August before settling for a second-place finish behind rival Toronto. The secret was a power-packed lineup led by sluggers Cecil Fielder, Mickey Tettleton, and Rob Deer, which led the league in home runs and walks that season.

He retired from managing after the 1995 season with a lifetime record of 2194-1834, for a .545 percentage. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager in 2000. He was also inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame the same year. A day in his honor was also held at Detroit's Comerica Park during the 2000 season.

On May 28, 2005, during pre-game ceremonies in Cincinnati, Anderson's jersey number, 10, was retired by the Reds. Anderson's number in Detroit, 11, has been inactive since 1995. However, it has not been officially retired by the Tigers.

In 2006, construction was completed on the "Sparky Anderson Baseball Field" at California Lutheran University's new athletic complex. In 2007, Anderson was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Mr. Anderson currently resides in Thousand Oaks, CA.

[edit] Trivia

• In 1979, Sparky guest-starred as himself on an episode of (appropriately enough) WKRP in Cincinnati. The episode was titled Sparky.
• Sparky appears as himself in the 1983 Disney Channel movie Tiger Town.
• Sparky earned the nickname "Captain Hook" because of his tendency to pull underperforming pitchers early in the game.
• Sparky was very superstitious and when entering the field from the dugout, would never step on the 1st or 3rd baseline, always hopping slightly over it on his way to the mound.
• Sparky was considered to be rather humble, and thus rarely got into arguments with umpires.
• Since his retirement from baseball, he has occasionally appeared in the sports media with comments about the Tigers.
• His Hall of Fame plaque has him wearing a Cincinnati Reds uniform, despite the fact that he spent the larger portion of his career managing the Tigers (1970-79 with the Reds, 1979-95 with the Tigers).
• During the 1989 season, Sparky took a month-long leave of absence from the team as the stress of losing wore on him. First base coach Dick Tracewski managed the team in the interim.
• Threw out the ceremonial first pitch of Game 2 of the 2006 World Series at Comerica Park.
• From 1996 to 1998, was an announcer for the Angels cable broadcast.

[edit] External links

• Baseball-Reference.com (Managerial statistics)
• Baseball Hall of Fame page

Preceded by Dave Bristol	Cincinnati Reds Manager 1970-1978	Succeeded by John McNamara
Preceded by Dick Tracewski	Detroit Tigers Manager 1979-1995	Succeeded by Buddy Bell
Preceded by Tony La Russa	American League Manager of the Year 1984	Succeeded by Bobby Cox
Preceded by John McNamara	American League Manager of the Year 1987	Succeeded by Tony La Russa