The Padres haven’t found their Dave Roberts.
They’ll give it another try, and good luck to them.
Monday’s surprise from Mike Shildt that he’s retiring after two seasons due to stress-driven health issues means Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller must now search for his sixth manager in 11 years.
It’s a plum job. But would-be applicants need to be convinced that at the Padres’ managerial office, there’s not a turnstile in place of a door.
Preller understands this. In a media call Tuesday, he was quick to note that plenty of prominent Padres employees have worked many years in their current jobs.
He said he desires a lengthy run from Shildt’s replacement, someone who can ride the tiger for a decade.
“There’s a lot of value in that,” he added. “So, I understand that, I understand the value that comes with that. That’s the goal here, when we make this next hire, to have somebody that’s here for the long haul, like a lot of people in the organization.”
Heading the search will be an 11th-year Padres general manager in Preller, a rookie chairman in John Seidler and a fifth-year Padres CEO in Erik Greupner.
Padres star Manny Machado, who’s under contract through 2033, figures to be kept in the loop.
Managers today don’t have nearly the clout they had when grouchy Dick Williams was leading the Padres to the 1984 World Series and sipping scotch in his office after games.
Front offices and well-paid ballplayers have reduced much of the power managers had long ago, meaning it’s rare for a field boss to keep his job for five years — much less 10.
The Padres are no different. Pat Murphy lasted only half a season after Preller, 10 months into his own run, named the former college coach the interim replacement to Bud Black in June 2015.
Andy Green, a longtime Diamondbacks employee, replaced Murphy and presided over four Padres seasons.
Two seasons apiece were it for Jayce Tingler, a former Preller colleague with the Texas Rangers whose calling card was player development; Bob Melvin, a former big-league catcher and longtime manager said to have impressed late Padres chairman Peter Seidler; and Shildt, a former St. Louis Cardinals manager who worked two years under Preller with the Padres as an adviser.
Roberts, hired by the Dodgers in November 2015, is an industry outlier.
The former Padres center fielder, bench coach and front office assistant wanted the job that went to Green but wasn’t interviewed for it. Less than a month after the Padres hired Green, the Dodgers hired Roberts. He is now wrapping up his 10th season in L.A.
Roberts, 53, still has his much-coveted job foremost because his gazillion-dollar Dodgers teams win often. Given the same Padres rosters Green had, I doubt Roberts would’ve garnered more than an additional five wins per year. Managers aren’t magicians.
An outgoing and curious Rancho Buena Vista High School and UCLA alum, Roberts seems to feed off chatting with a wide variety of people. He isn’t touchy about discussing baseball tactics before or after games with outsiders. He displayed a fiery streak as a player, and that surfaced as a manager when he shoved Green and Shildt in separate on-field spats. He was dogged enough to play seven years in the minors, then a decade in the big leagues. He’s a longtime husband and father.
Managers must cope with an adrenaline-filled job to which they’re beholden for 162 games. If they make it to October baseball, the stress gets cranked up several levels. Recurring adrenaline rushes can weaken immune systems.
Managers must ride the tiger, always.
Preller, who’s nothing if not a flexible thinker, was asked Tuesday if intrinsic factors to managing may be more stressful than front-office work.
In reply, he first got off a funny line.
“One of the benefits: you get to deal with the media twice a day, so that may help to lengthen some (manager’s) lives,” he quipped.
“It’s a different deal,” he continued. “In the front office, you’re watching the game from a different perspective, different lens. The travel’s different. The manager job, you’re there with your players and your group. It’s similar to a player in terms of being in the clubhouse, the locker room, the day-to-day grind of it. It’s a different pace. Maybe that pace is a challenge, honestly, from a time-spent standpoint. (With) front-office jobs, it’s a different type of physical toll. That makes some sense to me.”
Longevity isn’t a must from the next Padres manager for the franchise to win its first World Series. As Preller noted Tuesday, the job will attract several interesting candidates from inside and outside the club.
But if the Padres can make this managerial hire stick, it’d be a good thing for them and baseball’s hungriest fan base.