The New York Metropolitans were a Major League Baseball team that played in New York City. They played in the American Association from 1883 through 1887.[1] During their time as a Major League team, the Metropolitans employed five different managers.[2] The duties of the team manager include team strategy and leadership on and off the field.[3][4]
The Metropolitans' first manager was Jim Mutrie, also known as "Truthful Jim".[2][5] Mutrie managed the team in 1883 and led them to a record of 54 wins and 42 losses.[5] Mutrie also managed the Metropolitans for the 1884 season. In their second season, Mutrie led the Metropolitans to a record of 75 wins and 32 losses, which garnered them the American Association league title.[5][6] The team went on to face the Providence Grays in the 1884 World Series, and lost three game to zero.[7] The 19th century World Series was considered an exhibition contest between the champion of the National League and the champion of the American Association.[8] After the 1884 season, Mutrie left to manage the New York Giants of the National League.[5]
The Metropolitans' second manager was Jim Gifford.[2] He joined the team for their third season in the American Association after having managed a portion of the 1884 Indianapolis Hoosiers, also of the American Association. In 1885, Gifford led the team to a record of 44 wins and 64 losses.[9] Gifford continued to manage the Metropolitans for the 1886 season.[2] But, after 17 games, and a 5 win and 12 loss start, Gifford was replaced with veteran manager Bob Ferguson.[10] Ferguson became the team's third manager during their fourth season, and they were his eighth and last team he managed.[2][10] Ferguson led the team to a record 48 win and 70 loss finish in 1886.[10] Ferguson stayed with the team for the 1887 season, their fifth season as a franchise, but after a 6 win and 24 loss start, he was replaced with the teams' first baseman, Dave Orr, who became the player-manager.[2][11][12] However, after eight games, and a record of 3 wins and 5 losses, he was also replaced as manager of the team. Orr's replacement was baseball newspaper columnist and former manager of the Cincinnati Red Stockings, who finished the season with a record of 35 wins and 60 losses.[13][14] Caylor was the fifth and last manager for the Metropolitans, who ceased operations after the 1887 season.[1]
# |
A running total of the number of Metropolitans' managers. Any manager who has two or more separate terms is only counted once. |
G |
Number of regular season games managed; may not equal sum of wins and losses due to tie games |
W |
Number of regular season wins in games managed |
L |
Number of regular season losses in games managed |
WPct |
Winning percentage: number of wins divided by number of games managed |
PA |
Playoff appearances: number of years this manager has led the franchise to the playoffs |
PW |
Playoff wins: number of wins this manager has accrued in the playoffs |
PL |
Playoff losses: number of losses this manager has accrued in the playoffs |
LC |
League Championships: number of League Championships, or pennants, achieved by the manager |
WS |
World Series: number of World Series victories achieved by the manager |
# | Images | Manager | Seasons | G | W | L | WPct | PA | PW | PL | LC | WS | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jim Mutrie | 1883–1884 | 209 | 129 | 74 | .635 | — | — | — | 1 | — | [5] | |
2 | Jim Gifford | 1885–1886 | 125 | 42 | 76 | .392 | — | — | — | — | — | [9] | |
3 | Bob Ferguson | 1886–1887 | 150 | 54 | 94 | .365 | — | — | — | — | — | [10] | |
4 | Dave Orr | 1887 | 8 | 3 | 5 | .375 | — | — | — | — | — | [11] | |
5 | O. P. Caylor | 1887 | 100 | 35 | 60 | .368 | — | — | — | — | — | [13] |