R.I.P. Chuck Tanner

[sakata_catching]

Chuck Tanner, manager of the 1979 "We Are Family" Pirates, has passed away at the age of 82. Obit here.

Tanner's one of only two modern managers I know of (Lou Piniella is the other) who was traded for a player — in Tanner's case, from Oakland to Pittsburgh for Manny Sanguillen plus cash in 1976.

RIP, Chuck. I hope you appreciated how flukey that '79 WS ring of yours was.

[russ snyder]

Chuck Tanner, manager of the 1979 "We Are Family" Pirates, has passed away at the age of 82. Obit here.

Tanner's one of only two modern managers I know of (Lou Piniella is the other) who was traded for a player — in Tanner's case, from Oakland to Pittsburgh for Manny Sanguillen plus cash in 1976.

RIP, Chuck. I hope you appreciated how flukey that '79 WS ring of yours was.

How flukey was it? They came back from being down three games to one. He did a masterful job of utilizing his bullpen. I remember him using Bert Blyleven in relief. I'm an Orioles fan, but i think that Tanner never got enough credit for winning that World Series.

[OFFNY]

The first game that I ever went to when I was 5 and-a-half years old was a doubleheader at the original Yankees Stadium in 1971. The Yanks won both games. I STILL REMEMBER the White Sox' manager tossing his hat about 50 feet in the air, and getting ejected from the second game. That manager was none other than ......... CHUCK TANNER.

The red cap went flying in the air so friggin' high, and my older brothers were both laughing their asses off. We talked about that hat toss and ejection for years in my family.

SIDE NOTE: A few months after that doubleheader/Chuck Tanner hat toss and ejection, I fell in love with the Orioles when they were playing in the World Series against the Pirates. My whole family was rooting for the Prates because they liked Roberto Clemente, so naturally, I rooted for the Orioles. We lost the seventh game, my whole family whooped it up in the living room, and I went outside and pouted on the swing-set in our back yard here in Brewster, NY. I've been bleeding Orange and Black ever since, with no regrets.

.

[sakata_catching]

How flukey was it? They came back from being down three games to one.

Only six teams having ever accomplished this in WS history (only 4 prior to the '79 series) is enough to push the needle into flukey territory, I think.

I should note, though, that Tanner's mother died in the midst of the '79 World Series, yet he remained composed and focused throughout. He certainly deserves credit for that.

[russ snyder]

Ok. You win. It was a fluke. But for the record, Chuck Tanner won as many World Series as Earl Weaver. Maybe that's flukey as well.