Sad day in the world of baseball today as Sparky Anderson died at age 76. Known for managing the Cincinnati Reds during their heyday of the "Big Red Machine" as they won back-to-back World Series in 1975 and 1976, and then led the Detroit Tigers to a World Series championship in 1984. He was the first manager to win a World Series in both the National League and the American League (the only other manager to do it was Tony LaRussa). He finished sixth on the list of all-time MLB managerial wins with 2,194 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
It's pretty amazing to see how many great players that Sparky Anderson managed during his career. As Reds manager, he coached Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench, and as Tigers manager, he managed Jack Morris, Kirk Gibson, and Alan Trammell, among others.
I wasn't old enough to remember the "Big Red Machine", but I do remember the 1984 Detroit Tigers. They started the season 35-5 and never looked back as they went on to win the World Series that year, and no one else was even close.
R.I.P., Sparky.
It's pretty amazing to see how many great players that Sparky Anderson managed during his career. As Reds manager, he coached Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench, and as Tigers manager, he managed Jack Morris, Kirk Gibson, and Alan Trammell, among others.
I wasn't old enough to remember the "Big Red Machine", but I do remember the 1984 Detroit Tigers. They started the season 35-5 and never looked back as they went on to win the World Series that year, and no one else was even close.
R.I.P., Sparky.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
