SEATTLE - It only makes sense that the sports league with the most Latino athletes in the United States also has the largest amount of Latino managers. For the first time in its long history, six Latino managers will lead their MLB teams from the dugout in 2024.
The six account for a combined six World Series titles while holding different coaching positions. The Washington Nationals' Dave Martínez and the Boston Red Sox's Álex Cora are the only ones on this list to have won the Commissioner's Trophy in said position. Cora did it with the Red Sox in 2018 in his first season as a manager while Martínez did so in his second season at the helm of the Nationals in 2019.
Cora and Martínez are two of only three Latino managers to have won a World Series title. The first one to do so was the Venezuelan Ozzie Guillén, who ended the Chicago White Sox' 88-year drought without such a win in 2005.
The number of Latino managers has seen a steady increase since 2018. Between 2015 and 2017, there was only one Latino manager per season but, after Cora's and Martínez' recent success, more have gotten a shot.
The first Latino to get a shot as manager in MLB history was Cuban Mike González, who ran the St. Louis Cardinals in 1938 and 1940. Since then, more and more Latinos have gotten the opportunity to hold the position and, this year, Joe Espada and Carlos Mendoza joined the list as as managers of the Houston Astros and the New York Mets, respectively.
Espada, form Puerto Rico, succeeded legendary manager Dusty Baker after he retired following the 2023 season. As a player, he didn't have much success but his coaching credentials very much make up for it. After spending time with the Florida Marlins and New York Yankees as an assistant, he moved to the Astros in 2018 as a bench coach and was part of the team that won the 2022 World Series.
Just like Espada, Mendoza took over the Mets vacancy this season and he became just the second Latino to hold the position in the franchise's history. The Dominican Luis Rojas was the first Latino manager in Mets history but due to the lack of success, Rojas' stint only lasted two seasons between 2020-21.
After spending five seasons as a coach for the Yankees, Mendoza signed a three-year contract with the Mets in November of 2023 to become their new manager.
Cuban-American Pedro Grifol and Dominican-American Óliver Mármol round up the list of Latino managers in MLB this season. Grifol is currently in his second season at the helm of the White Sox while Mármol is on his third season with the Cardinals. In his first season as manager, he helped the Cardinals to a 93-69 W-L record and a guided them to their 12th Central division pennant.
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