Joe Maddon is an engaging character and had a good run as manager with the previously woebegone Tampa Bay franchise. He used an out in his contract to leave the Rays and could be the very well-paid manager of the Chicago Cubs within a few days.
Maddon was given much credit for his motivational techniques. He also embraced the lineup suggestions made by Andrew Friedman's statistical wizards.
And at age 61, he was also smart enough to get out while the getting was good, and find a huge payday while still considered a managerial savant.
As unlikely as was Maddon's success in Tampa Bay, the real source of his success was the same as it has been for managers throughout time: pitching.
One manager can use a bullpen better than the next, and he can see something in a pitcher or two that another does not, but basically managers are stuck with the dozen or so best pitchers provided to them by the front office.
And they win or lose based on the ability (or lack thereof) of those pitchers.
This was Maddon's nine-season run in Tampa Bay:
2006—Rays had a 4.96 ERA, 12th in the 14-team American League, and they finished 61-101, worst in the league.
