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On Friday, the Tampa Bay Rays hired Kevin Cash to be the 5th manager in the club’s history.
The Rays organization seems confident in the hire, desoite Cash not having any previous managerial experience. Before being named the Rays new manager, Kevin Cash was serving as the bullpen coach for the Cleveland Indians.
Cash is also very young for manager standards in Major League Baseball, aged at just 37.
“It came down to the energy, the poise that he has, the confidence, but the open-mindedness that goes along with it. That’s a rare combination to have in an individual,” president of baseball operations Matt Silverman said.
Kevin Cash has been picked to fulfill the not so easy task of replacing former Tampa Bay Rays manager, Joe Maddon, Maddon was far and away the most successful manager the Tampa Bay Rays have ever seen, and under his watch, the team played to a 754-705 win loss record with Maddon at the helm.
Maddon is also largely responsible for taking a team that had never even sniffed a winning record in a single season to becoming a perpetual playoff contender during his nine year reign as manager.During those seasons, Maddon managed the Rays to four playoff births, winning two AL East Championships, and winning the American League pennant in 2008.
Maddon left the team after this season, the Rays first losing season since 2008, and has since signed with the Chicago Cubs, while former Rays bench coach Dave Martinez also signed for the same position with the Cubs.
When it comes to the type of environment the Rays have had, and will have, Cash had this to say, “The voice is obviously probably going to change a little bit, but the players and the personnel, and the culture, what they created, that is something that I’m extremely fortunate to be a part of and join in on.”
With the hire made, the Rays can now start looking toward the 2015 season and trying to regain the success they had enjoyed during the majority of Maddon’s tenure as the Ray’s manager. They Hope Cash can guide the way.
