The 7 MLB Managers Responsible For The Fastest Firings After Opening Day

Most MLB teams that switch up their managers make those decisions in the offseason following a campaign where the man at the helm failed to live up to expectations. However, there have been more than a few situations where franchises felt the need to pull the plug shortly after a new season got underway.

No MLB managers have been fired closer to Opening Day than these guys

The MLB season consists of 162 games, and most teams are going to experience their fair share of ups and downs between March and September. It’s not impossible to bounce back from a rough start, but it’s also hard not to be worried about how things are going to unfold if you kick things off with a lopsided losing record.

It’s not necessarily rare for teams to fire a manager midway through the season, but it’s pretty rare to see heads roll at some point in the spring. However, there are more than a few people who’ve met that unfortunate fate, including…

Bryan Price, Reds: 18 Games

Bryan Price served as the pitching coach for the Reds before he was hired to replace Dusty Baker following the conclusion of the 2013 season. Cincinnati was coming off back-to-back playoff appearances, but the team failed to punch its ticket to the postseason while posting a losing record three years in a row during a stretch where Price went 276-372.

The fourth time did not turn out to be the charm, as the Reds were sitting at 3-15 when Price was relieved of his duties on Apr 19, 2018. Jim Riggleman was appointed to the interim role, but as is the case with all of the situations on this list, he wasn’t able to turn things around as Cincy ultimately finished at 67-95.

Bob Lemon, Yankees: 16 Games

The Yankees dealt with a revolving door of managers in the 1970s and 1980s thanks in no small part to the team’s on-again, off-again relationship with Billy Martin, the infamously fiery coach who was replaced by Bob Lemon after he resigned midway through the season in 1978.

The former White Sox skipper managed to lead them to a World Series victory that year, but he was fired after they started at 34-31 the following season. The split was fairly amicable, and owner George Steinbrenner retained his services as a scout before offering his old job after firing Gene Michael at the start of September in 1981.

Lemon once again led the Yankees to the World Series, but they ended up losing to the Dodgers. He found himself butting heads with Steinbrenner in the offseason, and while he still had the job when things got underway in 1982, that was no longer the case after he was let go following a 6-8 start.

Michael was rehired only to be fired in August, and Clyde King was named the third and final manager of a season where the Bronx Bombers ended up going 79-83.

Larry Rothschild, Rays: 14 Games

Larry Rothschild was the first manager in the history of the franchise that was initially dubbed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, as he made his debut with the team during their inaugural season in 1998.

The team never came close to sniffing a winning record during the first three seasons of its existence, and Rothschild was responsible for a 201-284 record across those campaigns when things kicked off in 2001.

He found himself out of a job after Tampa started a 4-14, and Hal McRae also struggled to get things clicking as the Rays finished in the basement of the AL East for the fourth year in a row with a 62-100 record.

Nick Leyva, Phillies: 13 Games

Nick Leyva had been working as an assistant coach for the Cardinals when the Phillies hired him to fill the void that formed after they parted ways with Lee Elia toward the end of the season in 1988.

Philadelphia went 67-95 during Leyva’s first season, which was just a slight improvement from the 65 wins they were coming off of. They “improved” to  77-85 in 1990, but they still didn’t come close to making the playoffs.

He got one more chance to turn things around in 1991, but that opportunity ended up being short-lived. He was fired on April 23rd, a little over two weeks after Opening Day, due to the 4-10 record that ushered in a season where the Phillies finished at 78-84 after Jim Fregosi replaced him.

Preston Gomez, Padres: 11 Games

We’ve got another guy who was the first manager in franchise history in the form of Preston Gomez, a former minor leaguer who’d coached for the Dodgers before he was selected to oversee the Padres ahead of their first season in 1969.

As was the case with Rothschild, Gomez led a team that finished last in its division three years in a row, going 176-309. He still had the job at the start of the season in 1972, but he lost it after the Padres fell to 4-7 after losing five of six games.

Don Zimmer ended up in his place, and San Diego ended up going 58-95.

Cal Ripken Sr., Orioles: 6 Games

As things currently stand, there are two managers who are tied for the dubious distinction of falling victim to the quickest firing after the start of an MLB season.

The first is Cal Ripken Sr., who served as the manager of the Orioles for a single game in 1985 before landing the gig on a permanent basis after Earl Weaver retired at the end of that season.

Baltimore went 67-95 during what would be his only full season at the helm. They lost their first six games in 1987 before Ripken was shown the door, and the decision to replace him with Frank Robinson extended what ended up being a 21-game losing streak that ushered in a season where they finished at 54-107.

Phil Garner, Tigers: 6 Games

Last, and tied for least, we have Phil Garner, who was hired to manage the Tigers before they ushered in the new millennium by going 79-83 during his first season in 2000.

They were in contention for the playoffs that year before being left on the outside looking in, but that was not the case when they went 66-96 in 2001. Garner was on the hot seat heading into 2002, and it got increasingly warmer when they opened up the year with a losing streak that led to his tenure coming to an end after Detroit fell to 0-6.

Luis Pujols lost his first five games after he replaced Garner, and the Tigers finished at 55-106.