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6/22/2001 - Commanding from the Dugout: Blue Jays Managers (Part 1 of 2)

When Bill Singer threw that famous first pitch at Exhibition Stadium in 1977, in the dugout was Roy Hartsfield, the very first manager in the history of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Born in Georgia on October 25, 1925, Hartsfield had been known as a competent second baseman for the Milwaukee Braves from 1950-1952 playing with the likes of Warren Spahn. However, injuries cut short his career, which saw him hit .273 with 13 home runs and 59 RBI.

His managing career included 20 years in the Dodger organization, in which he managed 15 years in their minor league system, never finishing below 2nd during the final 10 years. However, his big league managing debut came on April 7, 1977 when he managed the expansion Blue Jays against the Chicago White Sox.

Those early Blue Jays weren’t expected to win much, and they didn’t, but by 1979, the players he managed had turned against him, including Blue Jays reliever Tom Buskey, who told the Globe and Mail that “we need a new manager”. With a record of 166-318 during his three-years as Toronto manager, it was hard to argue. On September 30, 1979, Roy Hartsfield was fired as manager of the Blue Jays, the same day as Padres manager Roger Craig.

Bobby Mattick managed the Blue Jays in 1980 and 1981, but they never rose any higher than 7th in their division, as they finished with a 67-95 record in 1980 and a 37-69 record in the strike-split 1981 season.

Born in 1915 in Sioux City, Iowa, Mattick was the son of Wally “Chick” Mattick who had played with the White Sox in 1912-1913 and with the Cardinals in 1918. After signing as a shortstop for the Chicago Cubs in 1933, he spent just one season as a regular (1940). On December 4, 1940, he was traded with outfielder Jim Cleason to the Reds for shortstop Billy Myers.

Despite suffering a fractured skull above the right eye due to a foul ball (which left him with double vision)in 1936, Mattick would go on to play a total of 206 games, hitting .233 with 64 RBI before retiring in 1942, after having 6 eye operations.

After leaving the playing field behind, Mattick worked in a shipyard in 1943 and managed in the Southern League from 1944-1945 before becoming a long-time scout and development specialist. He signed the liked of Frank Robinson, Curt Flood, Don Baylor, Mel Queen and Gary Carter. In 1976, he joined the Blue Jays as a scouting supervisor and in 1978 was appointed the director of Player Development, a post that saw Mattick supervising all minor league field activities. He, along with Al LaMcchia, scouted Dave Steib.

On October, 1979, he replaced Roy Hartsfield, becoming, at age 64, the oldest rookie manager to start a season. The 67 games that Mattick and the Blue Jays won in 1980 were 14 more than the Hartsfield-led club had in 1979. However, the team hit just .226 in 1981 and attendance began to be a concern for Toronto management. Mattick found himself out of a job after the 1981 season.

Mattick became the Executive Coordinator of Baseball Operations and, on September 24, 1984 was named Vice President, Baseball, a position he holds today. In 1999, he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Bobby Cox took over to replace Bobby Mattick. Unlike Mattick and Hartsfield, Cox had some major league managing experience, having managed the Braves from 1978-1981 to a 266-323 record, with 1980 being his best season, when the Braves went 81-80. He would manage the Blue Jays from 1982-1985.

After playing for 7 years in the Dodger farm system, Cox was acquired by Atlanta in late-1966 and spent 1967 playing at Triple-A Richmond. He was then traded to the Yankees where he won the 3rd base job at the major league level in 1968-1969 before being forced to retire due to bad knees.

In 1971, he was the manager of the Class A Fort Lauderdale club in the Yankees organization, leading the team to a 4th place finish. After winning the International League Governor’s Cup in 1976, with Syracuse, he became the Yankees first base coach in 1977.

The next year, however, he was managing the Braves until, on October 7th, 1981, he was fired. 8 days later, he signed a one-year contract with the Blue Jays, but would stay with them for three seasons.

In 1982, the Cox-led Blue Jays would go 78-84, which, despite being a sub-.500 season, was their best record to date. In 1983 and 1984, they would improve to 89-73, finishing fourth and second respectively. in back to back winning seasons. But the best was yet to come for the Blue Jays.

In 1985, after a season in which they went 99-62, the Toronto Blue Jays won the American League Eastern division title. Although they lost to the Kansas City Royals, Cox was named Major League manager of the Year in 1985 by both the Associated Press and the Sporting News. However, 1986 was not to see Cox back at the helm of the Blue Jays. Instead, he returned to Atlanta, eventually helming the Braves as they began their decade of dominance in the National League throughout the 1990s. To this day, Bobby Cox remains manager of the Atlanta Braves.

Jimy Williams would be the next Blue Jays manager, hired after Bobby Cox left for Atlanta. Much like Cox, Williams continues to use the experience he learned leading the Blue Jays in the major leagues to this day.

After graduation from Fresno State University with a degree in animal science., he was singed by Red Sox scout Bobby Doerr as a shortstop but was later drafted by St. Louis in December 1965. His major league debut came in 1966 when he struck out against Sandy Koufax and his first hit came off Juan Marichal. He would see action in just 14 games in 1966 and 1967 before being traded to Cincinatti, where he played in the minors. In 1969, however, he was selected by the Expos in the expansion draft. In 1971, a shoulder injury put an end to his playing days, having never made it back to the majors since those 14 games with the Cardinals.

Beginning in 1974, Williams was a manager in the Angels organization, managing Quad City (in the Midwestern League), El Paso (Texas League), Salt Lake City (Pacific Coast League) and Springfield (American Association). Of those assignments, only El Paso saw Williams manage a losing team. In 1976 and 1979, he was voted the Manager of the Year in the AAA Pacific Coast League. From 1980 to 1985, Williams was a coach for the Blue Jays, filling the roll of 3rd base coach and later infield and outfield defensive coach.

Williams won 86 games in 1986, and losing 76 en route to a fourth –place finish that was considered a huge disappointment when compared to the hopes the team had after winning the East in 1986. Inconsistency, especially among the starting pitchers plagued the team. They improved to 96-66 in 1987 and chased the Detroit Tigers in pursuit of a second division title, playing 7 one-run games in the last 10 days of the season.

Injuries and a slow start in 1988 left the Jays in third spot in 1988, with an 87-75 record despite having the best record in the AL East after the All-Star break. With the Blue Jays not returning to the post-season since the 1985 Division title and tension between Williams and George Bell after Williams tried to make Bell a DH during 1988’s spring training, the end was near for Williams. On May 14th, 36 games into the 1989 season (with a record of 12-24).

However, Williams remains in baseball. In 1997, he became the manager of the Boston Red Sox. In 1999, he was awarded Manager of the Year honours...

John M. Milner firmly believes that Joe Carter's home run in the 1993 World Series was one of the turning points of his life. Discuss this, his columns, baseball or life in general with him at docmilner@yahoo.ca.

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