Joe Maddon is not new to this game.
When you consider experience, Maddon is someone who has seen the game through a variety of lenses. Outside of his minor league career as a player, he scouted, coached, was a roving hitting instructor and bench coach. His first managerial job with Tampa was after three decades in the game.
He knows a lot. Development, training, growth, talent assessment, production, you name it. He is not in Chicago by accident. The bullet points are indisputable. One of which now has a world championship next to it.
Yet today, a manager is evaluated very differently than those that were hired during the bulk of Maddon’s decades of experience.