Following Eric's lead from this morning, I wondered about the 2010 coaching staff of the Los Angeles Dodgers and their connections to this season's LCS teams. Not surprisingly in the relatively closed world of major-league baseball, there are quite a few ties.
Of course Joe Torre managed the New York Yankees from 1996-2007, making the post-season every year, winning the division ten times and winning four out of the six World Series they appeared in. The Yankees posted a ridiculous .605 regular-season winning percentage while Torre was manager. He worked for ESPN as a guest analyst when the San Francisco Giants were swept in the earthquake interrupted 1989 World Series. (That's not really a connection to the Giants, but I just wanted to write that sentence. -DY.)
Did you know that Don Mattingly played for the Yankees? He has also coached for them in various roles, including being Torre's bench coach in his last season as manager.
Larry Bowa started at shortstop for 12 years in Philadelphia and was a five-time all-star as well as a two-time gold glove winner. He also managed the Phillies from 2001 - 2004, averaging 84 wins per season. Bowa coached in New York for Torre's last two seasons there.
Mariano Duncan was the primary starting second baseman (98 starts) for Torre's first Yankee team, hitting a whopping, .340 / .352 / .500 / .852 for New York in 1996. He was traded in the middle of the following year, his last in the majors. Duncan is the proud owner of two rings in boxes, having won a World Series both that year and with the 1990 Cincinnati Reds. (I know the Reds aren't in the LCS; I just had forgotten that he had two rings.)
Bob Schaefer managed the Yankees' class-A affiliate in Greensboro of the Sally League in 1980 and 1981. The latter team won 98 games, a .695 winning percentage!
Rick Honeycutt pitched for the Texas Rangers from 1981-1983 before being obtained by the Dodgers in a stretch-drive deal for Dave Stewart and Ricky Wright, and also appeared for Texas in 1994. His 2.42 ERA in 1983 led the American League. In 71 starts and 46 relief appearances, he posted a 101 ERA+ for the Rangers. He also made three relief appearances totaling one inning for the 1995 Yankees after being purchased in late September.
Ken Howell pitched for the Phillies in 1989 and 1990 before injuring his arm and never pitching in the majors again. Philadelphia converted him to a starter, and he posted a 103 ERA+ in 1989. Overall he was 20-19 with the Phillies, with a 94 ERA+. He attempted a comeback and appeared in a handful of games for the Rangers rookie-ball team in the Gulf Coast League in 1993.
Manny Mota was signed by the New York Giants in 1957 as an amateur free agent and played in 47 games as a San Francisco rookie in 1962, managing to appear defensively at five different positions, second base, third base and all three OF spots.
Jeff Pentland seems to have no direct link to any of the four LCS teams, but as a player at Arizona State, he was a teammate of a somewhat famous ex-Yankee known for the occasional post-season highlight, Reggie Jackson.
Thanks to the always amazing Baseball-Reference.com and thebaseballcube.com.
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ALCS Game 1 tonight: Yankees (CC Sabathia) at Rangers (C.J. Wilson)