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Grady Little
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Grady Little (born March 30, 1950 in Abilene, Texas) is a manager in Major League Baseball. He guided the Boston Red Sox from 2002 to 2003, and has been manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2006.
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Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1968, Grady played three minor-league seasons as a catcher in the Braves and Yankees organizations.
Before returning to baseball in 1980, he worked as a cotton farmer.
From 1980 to 1995, he spent 16 full seasons as a manager in the minor league organizations of the Orioles, Blue Jays, and Braves, managing in Bluefield, VA/WV, Hagerstown, MD, Charlotte, NC, Kinston, NC, Pulaski, VA, Burlington, IA, Durham, NC, Greenville, SC, and Richmond, VA. He was inducted into the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.
From 1996 to 2001, Little served as a coach for the Padres, Red Sox, and Indians.[1]
In March 2002, the Boston Red Sox hired Little as their manager. Little was enormously popular with his players as he enhanced the loose nature of the clubhouse and supported struggling players. His tenure was very successful, the Red Sox winning a combined 188 games in his two seasons and nearly taking the pennant in 2003.
However, the 2003 season (and Little's entire tenure with the Red Sox) is mostly remembered for his controversial decision during game seven of the 2003 American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees. The Red Sox led the game 5-3 in the 8th inning, and were five outs away from reaching the World Series. Little visited the mound after starting pitcher Pedro Martinez gave up three straight hits, but he decided against taking out the ace pitcher. The Yankees tied the game on the next hit from Jorge Posada, and went on to win the game (and the pennant) in the 11th inning.
Little was the target of great angst in the aftermath of the Red Sox' loss (which turned out to be the last manifestation of the so-called Curse of the Bambino). Critics pointed out that Martinez had a history of pitching more poorly when tired, while the Red Sox had an excellent and well-rested bullpen waiting to take over. Supporters responded that Little's decision to trust Martinez was in keeping with his style that had brought the Red Sox that far in the first place. The Red Sox chose not to renew Little's contract as manager, a decision supported by most Red Sox fans, while some observers felt Little was unfairly made a scapegoat.
Little spent 2004 and 2005 as a consultant, instructor, and scout with the Chicago Cubs. On December 8, 2005, after an organizational shakeup that resulted in the dismissal of both manager Jim Tracy and GM Paul DePodesta, the Los Angeles Dodgers turned to Little to be the team's 7th manager since its 1958 move to L.A. As manager of the Dodgers, Little was reunited with several players from the 2002-03 Boston team, including pitcher Derek Lowe, 3B Bill Mueller, and shortstop-turned-first baseman Nomar Garciaparra. Little and new GM Ned Colletti were widely credited for bringing a fresh outlook to a team that had been wracked by instability over the previous decade. The Dodgers won 88 games in 2006 and earned the NL wild-card spot in the playoffs during Little's first season; however, they were swept by the New York Mets in the NLDS.
Little has a wife, Debby, a son, Scott, and 2 grandchildren.
- Baseball-Reference.com - Major League managerial record
- Minor-league managerial record
- Surviving Grady - Red Sox in the Aftermath of Grady Little
| Preceded by Joe Kerrigan |
Boston Red Sox manager 2002–2003 |
Succeeded by Terry Francona |
| Preceded by Jim Tracy |
Los Angeles Dodgers manager 2006–current |
Succeeded by current |