What if you were given a mulligan after one season of managing? Would you manage anything differently? That’s what Gabe Kapler of the Phillies and Dave Martinez of the Nationals are getting this year: a mulligan after a rookie season in which one team collapsed and the other underachieved. And yes, they are managing differently the second time around.
Asked what they learned from last season, both second-year managers gave the same answer: rely less on the numbers.
“Yes,” Martinez said about a lesson from last year. “For me, it’s being more defined with bullpen roles.