While the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Washington Nationals all reached the postseason, each team parted with their respective manager upon being eliminated. Perhaps the least surprising was John Farrell, whose teams regressed and then plateaued after winning the 2013 World Series.
As for the Nationals, while Dusty Baker’s had his missteps and miscalculations, fact of the matter was he guided the team to consecutive 95-plus win seasons and National League East titles. With the Yankees, Joe Giradi at 10 years was the longest-tenured of the three managers who were not retained.
New York won a championship in Giradi’s second season as skipper, and were one win from upsetting the Houston Astros and reaching the Fall Classic this year as the Wild Card team.
There’s some sentiment Giradi’s preference was to return in 2018, but it was the Yankees who elected to head in a different direction with a young club that’s expected to compete for a division title and more.
Reports have linked the Yankees to internal candidates, but an external option that may emerge is Los Angeles Dodgers analyst Jerry Hairston Jr., per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic:
One name I’m hearing in connection with #Yankees’ job: Jerry Hairston Jr. In similar mold to Hinch, Roberts, Cora; won WS in 2009 with NYY.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 28, 2017
Hairston played just one season with the Yankees, though was part of their last World-Series winning team in 2009. A member of the Spectrum SportsNet LA crew, he’s worked as a Dodgers analyst since retiring in 2013.
That was the second season Hairston spent with Los Angeles, during which time he served as a mentor to younger players on the roster. Although Hairston does not have previous managerial experience, long ties to the sport through his and his family’s playing careers, make him the type of candidate who have secured manager positions of late.
