Dusty Baker's firing, youth of Red Sox managerial candidates part of game-wide trend

Never mind “old school’’ vs. “new school’’ when it comes to being a major league manager. Now is not the time to be old – or older – when you want one of the 30 big league jobs.

Friday’s announcement that the Washington Nationals would not be bringing back Dusty Baker is one more piece of evidence.

Of the five managers fired/not retained since September, four – Baker, Terry Collins, Pete Mackanin and John Farrell – were each 55 or older. In fact, three of the four (all but Farrell) were 60 or older, led by Baker and Collins who are both 68.

That’s noteworthy in considering that the two known candidates remaining for the Red Sox managerial opening are both in their 40s: Alex Cora turned 42 earlier this week and Ausmus is 48.

(The Sox did interview and consider Ron Gardenhire, 59, as part of their managerial search. Gardenhire was introduced as the new manager of the Detroit Tigers Friday afternoon).

With Baker out of the picture in Washington, the Chicago Cubs’ Joe Maddon is now the oldest manager in the game at 63, followed by San Francisco’s Bruce Bochy (62), Atlanta’s Brian Snitker (62), Kansas City’s Ned Yost (62), Baltimore’s Buck Showalter (61), Minnesota’s Paul Molitor (61), Colorado’s Bud Black (60) and Pittsburgh’s Clint Hurdle (60).

All the other managers in the game are in their 40s or 50s, with the exception of Tampa Bay’s Kevin Cash, who, at 39, is, for now, the youngest manager in the game.

Many of the managers connected to the open jobs are also younger. Before choosing Gardenhire, who turns 60 later this month, the Tigers considered, among others, Omar Vizquel (50), Manny Acta (49), and Mike Redmond (47).

The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies are also said to have a number of younger candidates on their wish list, including Cleveland pitching coach Mickey Callaway (42) and current Oakland coach and former Arizona manager Chip Hale (52).

Why is this happening?

1) In an era when communicating with and relating to players seems to have taken on greater importance, it’s natural that teams would seek younger candidates for the dugout, on the theory that they should more easily bond with players in their 20s and 30s rather than a more experienced figure who might be old enough to be the father of some players, or in some cases, grandfather.

2) The reliance on analytics as a critical part of today’s game could prejudice some GMs and owners from hiring older managers who may be more reluctant to adapt. Reportedly, Gardenhire won over Detroit executives with his willingness to utilize more data, having learned to do so while working with Torey Lovullo and Mike Hazen in Arizona.

3) A cynic might say suggest that younger managers are less experienced, and thus less likely to command a bigger salary, while also offering less resistance to the input provided by members of a Baseball Operations staff. It’s one thing to get a 60-something manager to buy into “new school’’ thinking and take instruction from an actively involved GM; it’s easier to do so with a younger, first-time manager who brings less cachet to the position.

Unless the Red Sox add any additional candidates  – which seems highly unlikely at this point – their next manager will be in his 40s, continuing the industry-wide trend.