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Kansas City Royals: Mike Matheny good fit as next manager

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JULY 7: Manager Mike Matheny #22 of the St Louis Cardinals stands in the dugout prior to the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on July 7, 2018 in San Francisco, California. The Cardinals defeated the Giants 3-2. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JULY 7: Manager Mike Matheny #22 of the St Louis Cardinals stands in the dugout prior to the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on July 7, 2018 in San Francisco, California. The Cardinals defeated the Giants 3-2. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Getty Images) /
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St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny (22) (Photo by Tim Spyers/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny (22) (Photo by Tim Spyers/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Sabermetrics/Offense/Fielding Shifts

Matheny showed the willingness to embrace a combination of sabermetrics and scouting reports in positioning his fielders in shifts. Matheny maintained success even though he typically had rosters with pitchers who pitched to contact/groundball and fielders with limited defensive abilities (Matt Holliday, Matt Carpenter, Jed Gyorko, Johnny Peralta, Matt Adams).

Matheny also instituted an offensive philosophical shift to running up pitch counts and walking as much as possible. When Matheny began his tenure with the Cardinals in 2012, their batters increased their pitches seen per plate appearance each season from 3.78 in 2012 to 3.94 in 2017 despite having progressively younger and more aggressive lineups.

This offensively philosophy has been utilized successfully by the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Oakland Athletics in recent years to drive their offensive success.

The Royals, during their World Series campaigns, were known for their aggressiveness and ability to make consistent contact. The current Royals roster doesn’t not have the same contact ability as those World Series roster.

The 2020 Royals roster will have significantly more swing and miss, but more power and speed. If the Royals combine their established defense, speed, and developing power bats to Matheny’s plate approach philosophy they will be very intriguing and difficult to beat.

Pitching Management

The judgement of managerial decisions for pitcher usage is a difficult and subjective process. During Ned Yost’s managerial career with the Royals, I found myself conflicted about how Yost utilized his pitching staff and bullpen. I felt some pitchers weren’t pulled fast enough, used in wrong situations, and overused during Yost’s tenure.

During the timeframe (2012 – 2018), when Matheny and Yost were managing, Matheny had the superior starting pitching staff and it reflects in his ability to consistently maintain a winning record each year. Matheny, a former catcher himself, communicates well with his catcher and pitching staff knowing how to utilize them appropriately in the difficult situations.