Today's the anniversary of the death of Ned Hanlon, best known as the manager of the original Baltimore Orioles, which are widely touted as changing the game of baseball. They had players like John McGraw, Joe Kelley, and Big Dan Brouthers -- all Hall of Famers. While Hanlon has been credited (for the most part, erroneously) with inventing tactics like the hit and run, sacrifice bunt, and the Baltimore chop, perhaps his most lasting legacy was his influence on generations of managers.
Certainly, the most significant was McGraw, whose career victories are second only to another Hanlon player, Connie Mack. Among McGraw's managerial lineage are managers like Roger Bresnahan and Casey Stengel. Stengel's influence can be traced to today in people like Joe Torre and even Tony LaRussa.
While Connie Mack's lineage has essentially died out, through McGraw's descendents Hanlon survives, stronger than ever, considering how people like Willie Randolph and Joe Girardi have left Torre's staff and become managers (we won't count Lee Mazzilli for now). When you question your favorite team's managerial moves, take a half second to think about Ned Hanlon.
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