Here Are The 10 Worst Former Athletes Who Became Coaches
Most players see their coaches and probably think, “hell, I can do that.” Some players got a chance to prove they have the chops to coach. Some have succeeded and some have failed spectacularly. This post focuses on the latter.
The Worst NFL Coaches
Rich Kotite- After an unremarkable playing career, Kotite had a good start as the coach of he Eagles, but then went to the Jets and was considered one of the worst ever. He followed up a 3-13 season in 1995 with a 1-15 campaign in 1996. He never coached again.
Lane Kiffin- Oakland made him the youngest coach, 31, in team history and he went 4-12 in 2007. Late owner Al Davis tried to get Kiffin to resign but he would not. On September 30, 2008 Davis fired Kiffin over the phone and they went to court to settle on the salary. Davis won, baby.
Marty Mornhinweg- He played in the arena league and was eventually hired by the Detroit Lions in 2001. He lasted two seasons, going 2-14 and 3-13 during the Lions’ dark days. He hasn’t received a head coaching job since.
The Worst NBA Coaches
Isiah Thomas- One of the best point guards in history, Thomas was a really bad coach. He made the playoffs three times in as many seasons with Indiana, but the Pacers were built to win titles. Then he went to the Knicks. He was the general manager, made a slew of terrible trades, went 56-108 in two seasons, lost the Knicks a sexual harrassment lawsuit and is one of the most hated figures in New York sports history.
Dick Vitale- He’s a great college basketball analyst. But as an NBA coach? Awful, baby! He went 30-52 in his first season with the Pistons and then after starting the 1980-1981 season 4-8, late owner Bill Davidson went to Vitale’s house and fired him. At least Vitale has had a great career in broadcasting.
Elgin Baylor- Another Hall of Famer who was a bad coach and executive, Baylor coached the New Orleans Jazz for three years, compiling an 86-135 record. Then he was the GM of the Clippers for 22 years, and LA won one playoff series during that span.
The Worst MLB Managers
Alan Trammell- Once again, another great player who was an incredibly bad skipper. After playing with the Detroit Tigers for so long, they gave him a shot at manager. Bad choice. In three seasons, he went 186-300 including a 43-119 season in 2003.
Joe Quinn- Quinn played for St. Louis in the Union Association in 1884 and started managing in 1895. He went 11-28 with the St. Louis Browns in 1895 and then managed the Cleveland Spiders in 1899, who went a historically bad 12-104.
The Worst NHL Coaches
Wayne Gretzky- The greatest player of all time wasn’t so great as a coach. In fact, he was downright horrible. Between 2005 and 2009, the Phoenix Coyotes never finished better than fourth in its division under The Great One, and never hade more than 83 points in a season under Gretzky’s stewardship.
Barry Melrose- Like this year’s Los Angeles Kings, Melrose’s 1992-1993 version was a low seeded team that ended up making the Stanley Cup Finals. Of course, having Gretzky on your side certainly helps. After that season, things went downhill for The Mullet. LA only had 66 points the next season and Melrose was fired midway through the 1994-1995 campaign. Melrose went to ESPN until the Tampa Bay Lightning brought him back to the bench for the 2008-2009 season, only to fire him 16 games into the season.
The Last Place Yankees Have Numerous Offensive Issues
As the mist fell on the baseball grounds at 161st St. and River Ave. in the Bronx on Monday night, the New York Yankees missed numerous opportunities to score and fell not just to the Kansas City Royals by a lopsided 6-0 score, but fell to .500 at 21-21 and fell into a last place tie in the AL East with the streaking Boston Red Sox.
To say the Yankee offense is stagnant would be an affront to the order and the establishment of the stagnant. New York went an incredible 0-13 with runners in scoring position, and made Kansas City starter Felipe Paulino look like Pedro Martinez with his slider baffling New York batsmen along with his 94 mile per hour heat.
The 13 hitless at bats with runners in scoring position is the worst performance with ducks on the pond since July 1990. The team is in last place this late into a season for the first time since 2008, and they most certainly deserve to be in the cellar as we approach the Memorial Day weekend.
“At times, it looks like there’s 20 people out there playing defense,” Derek Jeter, who went 1-5 on Monday, said. “It happens every year. It happens to every team. It doesn’t look good when you’re going through it, but you’ve got to have confidence.”
If the Yankees’ offense has confidence right now, they’re doing fantastic work in hiding it. The mist at Yankee Stadium during the game looked like smoke clouding the hitters’ vision, causing an offensive power outage that has become a regular occurrence of late. The announced attendance was 39,225, but there were far fewer people there and nearly all of them were disgusted with the team’s performance.
“You’re going to hear it on the road, and you’re going to hear it at home when you don’t play well,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said, regarding the boos. “If they’re unhappy with us, believe me, we’re probably unhappier.”
This unhappiness has yet to convert itself into results of late. Raul Ibanez went 0-3 with runners in scoring position. Mark Teixeira went 1-4 and hit seventh last night because he’s been struggling so mightily this season, in part because of a bronchial infection he’s had for nearly the entire season to date. Alex Rodriguez struck out with the bases loaded and one out in the third inning, and really heard it from the fans.
“It’s very frustrating,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve talked about it over and over again. You can’t really describe it. It’s not a lot of fun obviously going out and not getting the job done. But at this point, nobody’s going to feel sorry for us…We know we’re capable of doing a lot more, and I think we will. Tomorrow would be a great day to start.”
This writer has personally attended four Yankees games, and they’ve scored a total of eight runs in those contests. Seven of those came in one game. They are fourth in the AL East in runs scored and now tied for last place. Until the offense awakes from its late spring slumber, this team could be stuck in last place for quite some time.
2012 MLB First Quarter Awards
We’ve reached 40 games, so teams that are doing well need to be taken a tad more seriously. Trends that were viewed as passing fads gain a little more legitimacy. With that legitimacy comes awards…Which brings us to what you’ll see below.
AL MVP- Josh Hamilton, OF, Texas- He leads the AL in batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, home runs and RBI’s. He leads all major league players in WAR. This is the easiest call in quite some time.
NL MVP- David Wright, 3B, NY Mets- Wright leads the NL in WAR, is batting over .400 and has an OBP over .500. That gives him the edge over Ryan Braun, Matt Kemp and Joey Votto.
AL Cy Young- Justin Verlander, Detroit- The reigning Cy Young and MVP backed up his title by leading the AL in WAR, innings, strikeouts, ERA, WHIP and complete games. Jered Weaver is hanging in this race, though.
NL Cy Young- Zack Greinke, Milwaukee- It’s an incredibly large and tight field, and any of five players could have won the award. Gio Gonzalez, Roy Halladay, Stephen Strasburg, Clayton Kershaw and Lance Lynn all have legitimate cases. But Greinke’s FIP and NL leading WAR gives him the edge.
AL Rookie- Yu Darvish, SP, Texas- You could argue that a player like Darvish isn’t really a rookie, that’s how Angel Berroa was chosen as the top AL rookie over Hideki Matsui, but I won’t be political and give it to the player that’s clearly the most deserving. Jesus Montero belongs in the conversation as well.
NL Rookie- Yonder Alonso, OF, San Diego- He has yet to develop power, but he leads all rookies in average, OBP and OPS.
AL Manager- Buck Showalter- Baltimore- He’s led a young team with a nondescript pitching staff to the best record in the AL and the best road record in the major leagues.
NL Manager- Don Mattingly- Los Angeles- The Dodgers had an ownership change and a lot of overall turmoil, but Mattingly has risen above it the LA has the best record in baseball. Mattingly deserves a lot of that credit.
AL Comeback Player- Jake Peavy, SP, Chicago- After a series of injuries, his career was left for dead. This season, he’s 5-1 with a 2.39 ERA and a WHIP under one.
NL Comeback Player- Brian LaHair, 1B, Chicago- Deemed a four-A player, too good for the minor leagues but not good enough to hack it in the bigs, LaHair has thrived this season after finally getting a chance. He’s batting .315/.415/.629 with 10 homers and is a bright spot for the Cubbies.
AL Breakout Player- Adam Jones, OF, Baltimore- Jones is developing into a legit superstar if he keeps up this kind of performance. He’s hitting .308 with a .610 slugging percentage and 14 home runs for the league leading Orioles.
NL Breakout Player- Brandon Beachy, SP, Atlanta- With Jair Jurrjens struggling, Beachy has taken his spot in the rotation and has been better than anyone would have ever imagined. He’s 5-1 with a 1.33 ERA for the Braves and could be in the Cy Young discussion if he throws enough innings.
AL Disappointing Player- Albert Pujols, 1B, Los Angeles- $240 million and one home run? He’s certainly been the least valuable player this year and is one of the reasons why the Angels are struggling so much.
NL Disappointing Player- Ike Davis, 1B, NY Mets- The young first baseman was supposed to shine this year, but is instead is hitting .163 and has the lowest WAR of any hitter in the major leagues.
AL Surprise Team- Baltimore Orioles- Who would have expected the best record in the AL and an incredible road record? Can the Orioles keep it up?
NL Surprise Team- Los Angeles Dodgers- They sport the best record in the game and are second in the NL in run differential. Can they remain in charge in the NL West?
AL Disappointing Team- Los Angeles Angels- After signing Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, this was supposed to be a juggernaut in the AL West. Instead, they can’t score runs and are floundering while the Dodgers are shining up the freeway.
NL Disappointing Team- Milwaukee Brewers- The Brewers were still supposed to contend in the NL Central even with Aramis Ramirez replacing Prince Fielder, but the pitching staff has allowed the second most runs in the NL and are in fifth place in the division.
The Reasons Behind David Wright’s 2012 Success
NEW YORK– By Mo Miller
Let’s go back to 2006, shall we? David Wright was one of the best third basemen, and one the best players in the MLB. In 2007, more of the same. Same thing for 2008. In those three years, Wright hit for a combined .312 average with 89 HRs, and 347 RBIs. Averaging it out, Wright played 158 games per season, with just under 30 home runs, and 116 RBIs. Citi Field came along in 2009 and Wright’s numbers dipped.
Until 2011, Wright had three forgetful seasons. He averaged 134 games played, with a .284 average, with 18 HRs and 79 RBIs per season. Wright was not just off at the plate, but also off in the field. His throws were off line, he lost his cat-like quickness that won him Gold Gloves in 2007 and 2008. Enter 2012, Wright has been nothing short of sensational both at bat and in the field.
It’s 38 games into the 2012 season and Wright’s Mets are exceeding expectations with a 21-17 record, and it’s mainly thanks to the unofficial captain, Wright. Wright has missed sat three games all season (due to a fractured pinky), and is now batting .411/.513/.621 with four home runs and 22 RBIs after Thursday’s 9-4 Mets win over Cincinnati. Wright’s .411 average and .513 OBP lead the major leagues. So what’s going (W)right this season for David?
First and foremost, his strikeouts are down. Over the last three seasons, Wright averaged a strikeout once every 3.8 at bats, with a 2.04 strikeout to walk ratio. Going into Thursday’s game, Wright has struck out once every 5.8 at bats with a 0.88 strikeout to walk ratio. In 2006-2008, Wright averaged 5.8 at bats between strikeouts, with a 1.36 strikeout to walk ratio. Wright is seeing the ball better, and is on target when he makes contact.
Over the past few years, Wright was late on fastballs or couldn’t reach those fastballs on the outside corner. So far in 2012, as the numbers indicate, Wright has been less prone to the strikeout, leading to more hits. The most telling number is Wright’s balls in play percentage. From 2006-2008 Wright put the ball in play 68% of the time. Between 2009 and 2011, Wright hit the ball in play 62% of the time. This season? 67% of the time. It’s made a tremendous difference.
Secondly, there’s been a difference in how Wright’s been hitting the ball. So far in 2012, 10.2 percent of Wright’s hits have been extra base hits, right around at his 2006-2008 average of 10.5 percent. Wright has hit line drives for a quarter of all balls he’s put into play. That percentage tells us Wright has kept an even swing. In recent years, it had looked like Wright’s swing had evolved into a little bit of an upper cut, especially since the creation of the formerly cavernous Citi Field. The fact that Wright has hit line drives for one quarter of all balls in play, tells us if Wright had more of an upper cut in his swing and he has since leveled it. Wright is no longer trying to hit 500 foot bombs, but rather just get good wood on the ball.
Last but not least, Wright’s leadership has also set him apart. It won’t show up in any box score, but ask any Mets player, coach or fan, and they will tell you Wright is the leader of the Mets, their unofficial “captain.”
Monday night, following D.J. Carrassco’s beaning of Ryan Braun, when the Mets came up to bat, Terry Collins quickly removed Wright from the lineup, not wanting his star player to get hurt. Wright was upset at his manager since he wanted to be the guy to take the hit for the team. This is finally Wright’s team. Carlos Beltran is gone. Carlos Delgado? Gone. Jose Reyes is in Miami. Wright goes out on the field knowing that it’s his team now, and he has to set an example for all the young players on the team. He goes out everyday and plays his heart out, even playing with a broken finger!
In recent years, there was worry that the burden of the Mets was getting to Wright, and that’s why he was struggling. Wright has come out in 2012 and is trying to prove all his critics wrong, even team owner Fred Wilpon, who this week went back on his statement from last year of calling Wright “not a superstar”, and is ready to be the leader of the Mets in all aspects. Wright has stepped his game up to a new level, and the Mets are competitive because of it.
Do Baseball Fans Hate Ryan Braun?
The attendance at Citi Field claimed by the Mets on this gloomy Tuesday evening was 22,268. Being at the game, I can assure you that there were far fewer fans who actually ventured out to Flushing after such a gloomy day.
The home team’s performance matched the day’s dismal weather, with the Milwaukee Brewers cruising to an 8-0 win behind Zack Greinke’s dominant pitching and a pair of Travis Ishikawa home runs. But what struck me was the boos that rained down on Milwaukee slugger Ryan Braun each time he stepped up to the plate. Despite having his 50 game steroid suspension removed on a technicality– because of an error in how his sample was handled– it seems like Braun is still guilty in the court of public opinion.
Was his NL MVP award last season “tainted” in a way by his positive test that was ultimately overturned? Do fans still view Braun as the clean player who led the Brewers to another NL Central title last year and a trip to the NLCS? Is he currently looked at suspiciously because of his hot start?
With the game clearly out of reach and just after Rickie Weeks smacked a homer to left, Mets reliever D.J. Carrasco plunked Braun on the elbow. The remaining fans who remained at Citi, most of them intoxicated, applauded Acosta for not only standing up for his poorly performing comrades but for beaning Braun a player once loved but perhaps is now despised in a way for possibly tarnishing baseball’s seemingly rehabilitated image.
Is there damage to Ryan Braun’s reputation? Is he now reviled in parks across the country? What will be his lasting legacy? Those are questions only fans and the sands of time can ultimately answer.
