Chip Hale has it easy. His star player is Paul Goldschmidt, a team-first guy who always listens to the manager, always leads by example and never complains about his contract.
Chip Hale has it very difficult. His boss is a Hall of Fame manager and one of the game’s most celebrated tacticians. Imagine being second-guessed by Tony La Russa after getting checkmated in extra innings.
In between, the Diamondbacks’ rookie manager has done an excellent job.
“He’s brought a lot of energy to our team,” relief pitcher Brad Ziegler said. “He’s demanded hustle out of the offense, and you can just see how it has changed the tempo of the game when we’re batting.