(Grades for Bobby’s predecessors here.)
Had Toronto not won the AL East in 1985, Bobby probably would’ve returned to the Braves as manager, a job he held just four years earlier. Ted wanted him back, the story goes, but wasn’t certain he would accept. Desperate to make a splash, he turned to Chuck Tanner. Worried that the Yankees would hire Tanner, Ted pounced, and four days after the regular season ended the former Pirates skipper was hired. Bobby, who maintained a home in Marietta, agreed to fill the GM opening.
The Braves were in worse shape than anyone realized.