Much was made of the fact that the abbreviated 2020 season resulted in too small of a sample size to properly assess players. It seems team executives feel that way about manager evaluation, too.
There are only three "new" managers (if that's what you want to call Alex Cora, A.J. Hinch and Tony La Russa) this year after six new managers were appointed ahead of the 2018 and 2019 seasons, and 10 in 2020. Several skippers who oversaw underachieving clubs were handed a reprieve by their front offices last year, which is understandable after a 60-game season. But will those executives be so patient after 162 games in 2021?