Ranking the 12 Greatest MLB Managers of All Time
Last month, the baseball world paused to reflect on the life and legacy of Bobby Cox after the Hall of Fame manager's passing. The remembrance sparked a natural question: Where does Cox rank among the greatest skippers in MLB history?
Evaluating managers is a tricky exercise. When assessing players' cases for the Hall of Fame, longevity and sustained excellence matter more than championship rings. Few would argue, for example, that Paul O'Neill was a better player than Ted Williams simply because he won more World Series titles. Managers are slightly different. Their influence is harder to quantify, and while regular-season success still matters, it's difficult not to place extra weight on October, when a single pitching change, lineup decision or bullpen gamble can alter the course of a series.
That doesn't mean championships are everything. Great managers have spent years working for flawed organizations or small-market clubs with limited resources, while others have inherited dynasties loaded with Hall of Fame talent. Some have made their marks by adopting novel strategic methods. But when comparing baseball's managerial legends, postseason success inevitably becomes a larger part of the conversation.
With that in mind, here's our ranking of the 12 greatest managers in MLB history, with a nod to some who just missed the cut.
Honorable mentions: Leo Durocher, Terry Francona, Miller Huggins, Tommy Lasorda, Jim Leyland, Joe Maddon, Bill McKechnie, Lou Piniella, Dick Williams
12. Earl Weaver
Teams managed: Baltimore Orioles (1968–82, 1985–86)
Career record: 1,480–1,060 (.583)
Postseason: 26–20, four pennants, one World Series championship
Weaver's place on this list comes down as much to his influence on baseball strategy as his teams' accomplishments-though those weren't too shabby. The fiery Orioles skipper won the 1970 World Series and only endured one losing season, his last, across 17 years managing Baltimore. His clubs consistently contended despite rarely featuring the star power of some of their rivals, and his .583 winning percentage ranks ninth all-time among those with at least 1,000 games.
More importantly, though, Weaver helped reshape how baseball was played. Decades before analytics became mainstream, he emphasized on-base percentage and power hitting over bunts, steals and one-run tactics. His philosophy of waiting for the three-run homer became commonplace throughout the sport. The Orioles won another World Series in 1983, the year after his first retirement, with a roster largely assembled during Weaver's tenure, underscoring the foundation he built in Baltimore. – Will Laws
11. Bobby Cox
Teams managed: Atlanta Braves (1978–81, 1990–2010); Toronto Blue Jays (1981–85)
Career record: 2,504–2,001 (.556)
Postseason: 67–69, five pennants, one World Series championship
One of the elite regular-season managers to ever command a dugout-Cox's 16 seasons qualifying for the playoffs are the most ever-MLB's all-time ejections leader got off to a somewhat inauspicious start to his managerial career, enjoying a single winning season during his first stint with the Braves. He then piloted the Blue Jays to a spot in the 1985 American League Championship Series before returning to Atlanta, where his star really took hold with six World Series appearances between 1991–99, including his lone title in '95.
The second decade of Cox's second Atlanta tenure was marked by early playoff exits, but he kept Atlanta competitive enough to retire on his own terms in 2010. Along with Tony La Russa and Buck Showalter, Cox is one of just three skippers to win four Manager of the Year awards since the honor was officially recognized by MLB in 1983. – Kyle Koster
10. Dave Roberts
Teams managed: Los Angeles Dodgers (2016-present)
Career record: 980–595 (.622)
Postseason: 69–48, five pennants, three World Series championships
Yep, Doc already cracks the top 10. Roberts is already building one of the most accomplished managerial résumés in baseball history, and having just turned 54 years old, he may not even be halfway finished. Since joining the Dodgers in 2016, he has guided the club to the postseason every year while recording the highest winning percentage of any manager with at least 1,000 games. Los Angeles has won at least 90 games in every full season under Roberts's watch, and he's delivered plenty of hardware during one of the most sustained runs of success the sport has ever seen.
Of course, Roberts has benefited from leading one of baseball's most talented and well-funded organizations, and the Dodgers have frequently disappointed in October when they appeared destined for a title-none of Roberts's five 100-win teams brought home the trophy. Yet expectations under this Dodgers regime are unlike those faced by any other modern manager, and Roberts has consistently kept the franchise performing at an elite level despite roster turnover, injuries and the pressure that comes with annual championship-or-bust standards. Few managers have accomplished more by this stage of their careers. – WL
9. Bruce Bochy
Teams managed: San Diego Padres (1995–2006); San Francisco Giants (2007–19); Texas Rangers (2023–25)
Career record: 2,252–2,266 (.498)
Postseason: 57–37, five pennants, four World Series championships
Bochy was regarded as a good manager who made the most out of subpar rosters during his 12-year tenure with the Padres. Then he moved to San Francisco, and everything changed. Over the course of 13 years with the Giants, Bochy solidified himself as one of the best skippers in MLB history, as he led the franchise to three World Series titles in five seasons. With those victories in 2010, ‘12 and ‘14, he made himself a no-doubt Hall of Famer. Then, after a four-year retirement, he returned and immediately led the Rangers to their first championship in franchise history in '23. Only six managers have won four or more championships, and only five have won a title with multiple teams.
Holding Bochy back on this list is a subpar regular-season record. During those 12 years in San Diego, he was 951–975 (.494), while in his 13 years with the Giants, the team was 1,052–1,054, a tick below .500. He won a World Series in Texas, but the next two seasons were disappointing and he wound up with a 249–237 mark (.512). His career regular-season record is below .500, but his .606 mark in the postseason is what elevates him to this status. He's sixth all-time on the MLB wins list, and the five above him are all Hall of Famers. He'll join them in Cooperstown soon enough. – Ryan Phillips
8. Connie Mack
Teams managed: Pittsburgh Pirates (1894–96); Philadelphia Athletics (1901–1950)
Career record: 3,731–3,948 (.486)
Postseason: 24–19, nine pennants, five World Series championships
Mack's place on this list is one of the toughest to evaluate. No manager has won more games in MLB history than the longtime Athletics skipper, who accumulated an astonishing 3,731 victories across 53 seasons at the helm of Philadelphia, building multiple dynasties decades apart. The sheer longevity of his tenure is difficult to comprehend today-Mack managed more games than some franchises have played in their entire existence.
Yet his résumé comes with caveats that apply to none of his peers. Mack also holds the all-time record for losses, finishing with 3,948 defeats and a career winning percentage below .500. His A's endured several prolonged stretches of futility, particularly late in his career, and from 1937 onward he was the majority owner of the club as well as its manager. Had he not effectively been his own boss, it's difficult to imagine many organizations allowing him to remain in place through some of those lean years. Still, the combination of five championships, nine pennants, and the most wins in baseball history makes it impossible to keep the Grand Old Man of Baseball out of the top 10. – WL
7. Sparky Anderson
Teams managed: Cincinnati Reds (1970–78); Detroit Tigers (1979–95)
Career record: 2,194-1,834 (.596)
Postseason: 34–21, five pennants, three World Series championships
The man nicknamed "Captain Hook" became famous for his quick trigger with pitchers-decades before that was hailed as sound strategy-but is perhaps best known for becoming the first manager to win a World Series in both leagues (back when the gameplay in each league differed). Anderson claimed back-to-back World Series titles with Cincinnati's Big Red Machine in 1975 and '76, then added another with Detroit in '84. He also won the NL pennant in four of his first seven years with the Reds.
Anderson inherited plenty of talent in Cincinnati, but few dynasties in MLB history have handled expectations better than the Big Red Machine; the 1976 Reds remain the only team to sweep the entire postseason since the league championship series was introduced in '69. By the time he retired in '95 due to his unhappiness with the state of the league following two strike-shortened seasons, Anderson ranked third all-time in victories (he now ranks seventh) and was one of the sport's most respected managers. – WL
6. Walter Alston
Teams managed: Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1954–76)
Career record: 2,040–1,613 (.558)
Postseason: 23–21, seven pennants, four World Series championships
Alston spent 23 seasons managing the Dodgers and somehow never signed a contract longer than one year. The arrangement worked out just fine for the soft-spoken skipper known as "The Quiet Man," who guided the franchise through its move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles while keeping the Dodgers among baseball's model organizations, winning four World Series titles between 1955–65.
Los Angeles hit a bit of a skid after that, missing the playoffs for seven straight seasons, though the Dodgers logged winning records in 19 of Alston's 23 seasons at the helm. He won one last pennant in 1974 before L.A. lost in the World Series to the A's, and the Dodgers legend retired two years later as a six-time NL Manager of the Year. – WL
5. Joe Torre
Teams managed: New York Mets (1977–81); Atlanta Braves (1982–84); St. Louis Cardinals (1990–95); New York Yankees (1996–2007); Los Angeles Dodgers (2008–10)
Career record: 2,326–1,997 (.538)
Postseason: 84–58,six pennants, four World Series championships
Torre is one of the most esteemed managers in Yankees history, guiding the team to four World Series championships in five years from 1996 to 2000, including three straight. He led New York to the postseason in all 12 years of his tenure with the franchise and never won fewer than 87 games as the Yankees' manager. Torre ranks fifth all-time in wins with 2,326, trailing only Cox, John McGraw, La Russa and Connie Mack, as well as fifth in World Series games won, with the most by anyone who started their managerial career after World War II.
All five franchises Torre led were among the highest-pressure jobs in baseball, and while you can ding him for never winning a title while he wasn't guiding star-studded rosters for the Yankees, you can also credit him for never wilting under the bright New York lights. – RP
4. Tony La Russa
Teams managed: Chicago White Sox (1979–86, 2021–22); Oakland Athletics (1986–95); St. Louis Cardinals (1996–2010)
Career record: 2,884–2,499 (.536)
Postseason: 71–61, six pennants, three World Series championships
La Russa's recent White Sox tenure wasn't always pretty, but he's still one of the greatest managers in league history. La Russa enjoyed a legendary 35-year managerial career, revolutionizing baseball strategy in several ways. He maximized the use of his bullpen and bench more effectively than his counterparts by aggressively hunting for advantageous matchups, popularizing both the one-inning closer and the one-out reliever, and using frequent double switches, among other methods.
La Russa won the World Series with both the A's and the Cards and oversaw 13 seasons with 90 or more wins. In all, his 2,884 wins are second among all managers in MLB history, trailing only Connie Mack, and he led his team to the playoffs 15 times throughout his career, trailing only Cox. – RP
3. John McGraw
Teams managed: Baltimore Orioles (1899, 1901–02); New York Giants (1902–32)
Career record: 2,583–1,870 (.591)
Postseason: Ten pennants, three World Series championships
John McGraw was a pioneer in baseball strategy during his playing and managerial careers. As a player, then player-manager, of the Orioles in the 1890s, he helped develop the "Baltimore Chop" and the hit-and-run, which helped the team stand out during the dead-ball era. His "inside baseball" strategy popularized keeping the ball on the infield using hits, walks, bunts and stolen bases to put pressure on defenses. He later became player-manager of the New York Giants, where his star soared. He led the Giants to a World Series title in 1905, then switched to managing full-time after the ‘06 campaign. He went on to lead the team to back-to-back titles in '22 and ‘23.
McGraw still ranks third all-time in wins and held the record for a time until Mack surpassed him in 1934. His impact on the game was massive, given that his small-ball strategy worked for years while teams couldn't rely on home runs to carry them. In addition to his three championships, his 10 pennants are tied with Casey Stengel for the most all-time. – RP
2. Casey Stengel
Teams Managed: Brooklyn Dodgers (1934–36); Boston Bees/Braves (1938–43); New York Yankees (1949–60); New York Mets (1962–65)
Career Record: 1,905–1,842 (.508)
Postseason: 37–26,10 pennants, seven World Series championships
No manager has ever presided over a dynasty quite like Stengel's Yankees. After years of middling results in Brooklyn and Boston, the colorful skipper arrived in New York and immediately produced one of the greatest runs in baseball history, winning five consecutive World Series titles from 1949–53. By the time he retired from the Yankees after the 1960 season, Stengel had collected seven championships and 10 AL pennants, tying the record for league titles. His 37 victories in the Fall Classic remain the most by any manager. If there's a knock against him, it's that he logged a losing record with the other three franchises he managed, dampening his overall record.
Stengel's impact extended beyond the trophy case, however. Having often been platooned by McGraw as a player, he became one of the first managers to aggressively exploit platoon advantages himself, tailoring lineups to the handedness of opposing pitchers long before it became commonplace. Modern managers routinely employ tactics that Stengel helped pioneer, but none have matched the October success that made him a legend. – WL
1. Joe McCarthy
Teams managed: Chicago Cubs (1926–30), New York Yankees (1931–46), Boston Red Sox (1948–50)
Career record: 2,125–1,333 (.615)
Postseason: 30–13, nine pennants, seven World Series championships
Never heard of McCarthy? That's understandable. Unlike many of the managers on this list, he wasn't known for a colorful personality, fiery arguments or tactical innovation. He simply won-more consistently than anyone else in baseball history.
McCarthy ranks behind only Roberts in terms of winning percentage (min. 1,000 games managed), ranks first in postseason winning percentage (.698) and likewise places among the all-time leaders in wins (10th) and championships (T-1st). After leading the Cubs to a pennant in 1929, he took over the Yankees and transformed an already strong franchise into a dynasty, capturing seven World Series titles and eight AL pennants in a span of 12 years between 1932–43.
Critics can fairly point out that McCarthy benefited from managing some of the most talented rosters ever assembled. But every great dynasty needs a steady hand, and no manager converted talent into victories more efficiently than McCarthy. – WL
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ranking the 12 Greatest MLB Managers of All Time.
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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 4:15 AM.