The 2022 Major League Baseball regular season is nearing the halfway point. Several skippers have already been let go but there are a few managers remaining that have come under fire in recent weeks. Below, we’ll go over five MLB managers that are on the hot seat in 2022.
5) Derek Shelton – Pittsburgh Pirates
When you take a look at the National League Central Division standings, at first glance by just looking at placement, you would think the Pittsburgh Pirates were a team one the rise.
They are currently in third place in the NL Central, and have not been as high as third since the 2016 season. However, the reason why the Pirates are third is not because they are a respectable team. It is because the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs behind them are not playing productive baseball at all.
With a record of 29 wins and 44 losses and a poor winning percentage of .397 this season, it is fair to say that Derek Shelton has not had the impact from a managerial perspective that Pirates management were hoping for. Shelton’s career record as manager is 109 wins and 186 losses. with a poor winning percentage of .369, he finds himself among the MLB managers on the hot seat in 2022
Currently, the Pirates odds of winning the World Series are set at +50000.
4) David Bell – Cincinnati Reds
After showing promise the last two seasons (a playoff berth in 2020), and having a respectable record of 83 wins and 79 losses in 2021, there were signs of optimism for the Cincinnati Reds ball club heading into the season.
But after an absolutely horrendous start, where they only won three of 21 games in the entire month of April, the Reds fell out of playoff contention early this season. Things started to go better in the month of May as the Reds were above .500 with a record of 14 wins and 13 losses.
However in the month of June, the Reds have only won 8 of 24 games.
Cincinnati is now at 25 wins and 47 losses, and are 15.5 games back of the National League Central Division leading Milwaukee Brewers.
The Reds odds of winning the World Series are +100000.
3) David Ross – Chicago Cubs
Expectations are always high in Chicago, and it is fair to say the Cubs have not delivered with David Ross as the bench boss for the home team at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs have only won 13 of 38 games at home this season and that is simply not acceptable among the most loyal Cubs fans. After guiding the Cubs to the postseason in 2020 with a record of 34-26 under Ross, the Cubs were 20 games below .500 at 71-91 last season, and 28-45 with a .384 winning percentage in 2022.
With expectations still sky-high in Chicago, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Ross finds himself among the MLB managers on the hot seat in 2022.
The Cubs odds of winning the World Series are +50000.
2) Bud Black – Colorado Rockies
In his first two seasons as the manager of the Colorado Rockies, Bud Black was very effective as the Colorado manager as they had a record of 87-75 in 2017 and 91-72 in 2018.
However, over the last four seasons, the Rockies have been 51 games below .500, including 32 and 42 this year. Everyone expected the Rockies to be below the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres in 2022, but just not the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are at 33-41 after losing 110 games a year ago.
The Rockies odds of winning the World Series are +50000.
1) Tony LaRussa – Chicago White Sox
With plenty of talent and an underperforming team, LaRussa leads our list of MLB managers on the hot seat in 2022.
The initial hiring of 76-year-old Tony LaRussa on October 29, 2020 might have seemed a little strange when he had not managed a Major League team since the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011. Expectations were extremely high for the White Sox this year, yet they are four games below .500 at 34 wins and 38 losses, and 6.5 games back of the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central.
The White Sox faithful are growing very impatient with LaRussa and even got on his case earlier this year when he intentionally walked Trea Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers with two strikes.
The White Sox odds of winning the World Series are +2800.
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