10 Major League Baseball Managers With the Most Victories Who Never Managed in the World Series

Over the years, some very good major league baseball players have had lengthy careers but never made it to the World Series. The same is true for managers; some managed for many years and racked up a lot of wins, but never won a league championship and thus never managed a team in the World Series. Eliminating those who spent all or most of their managerial careers before the first World Series in 1903 (like Hall of Famer Frank Selee, who managed between 1890 and 1905 and won five National League Pennants in the 1890s), here are the 10 managers who have won the most games in major league history but never managed a team in the World Series.

Gene Mauch: 1902 Wins, 2037 Losses

Mauch managed 26 seasons between 1960 and 1987. He managed the Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, and California Angels. Mauch ranks 13th all time in victories, three behind number 11 Casey Stengel. Stengel, however, managed in 10 World Series while Mauch never made it, although he came close three times.

On 9/21/1964, Mauch’s Phillies were 6 1/2 games ahead of the second place St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds with 12 games left to play. In one of the more monumental collapses in major league history, the Phillies lost 10 straight games and finished in a second place tie with the Reds, one game behind the Cardinals. In 1982, Mauch’s Angels won the American League West and had a 2-0 lead over the A.L. East Champion Milwaukee Brewers in what was at that time a best of five American League Championship series. The Brewers swept three straight games to win the pennant.

Mauch had one more chance in 1986 when his Angels again won the A.L. West. By this time, the League Championship Series had expanded to best of seven, and the Angels took a 3-1 lead over the East’s Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox swept the next three games to win the pennant.

Buck Showalter: 1551 Wins, 1517 Losses

Showalter managed the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles between 1992-2018. His teams reached the post season as division winners or wild cards five times, but none won their league championships. Showalter’s 1994 Yankees were 70-43 and in first place in the AL East when a player’s strike on August 11th ended the season. With the way managers in baseball are recycled, we would not be surprised if Showalter got another shot as a manager in the majors.

Clark Griffith: 1491 Wins, 1367 Losses

Griffith managed 20 seasons between 1901 and 1920, and won the first American League Pennant in 1901 (two years before the first World Series) as manager of the Chicago White Sox. Griffith also managed the New York Highlanders (today’s Yankees), the Cincinnati Reds, and Washington Senators.

Griffith was a pitcher in his playing days, and for the first half of his managerial career, he was a player-manager. He became the majority owner of the Senators in 1920, and owned the club until he died in 1955. Griffith won 237 games as pitcher and was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a player in 1946.

Jimmy Dykes: 1406 Wins, 1541 Losses

Dykes managed for 21 seasons between 1934 and 1961, and had a record of 1406 wins and 1541 losses. He began his managerial career with the Chicago White Sox, and later managed the Philadelphia Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds (for part of one season, his only one in the National League), Detroit Tigers, and Cleveland Indians. His best year was 1937 when his White Sox finished third in the American League with a record of 86-68. Most of the American League teams he managed did not have enough talent to seriously compete for a championship, especially in an era dominated by the New York Yankees.

Dykes was a player-manager in his first years as manager of the White Sox He was a good hitting infielder who had a .280 lifetime batting average with 2256 hits. Although he never managed in one, he did play in three consecutive World Series (1929-1931) with the Philadelphia Athletics.

Bill Rigney: 1239 Wins, 1321 Losses

Rigney managed 18 seasons between 1956 and 1976, beginning his managerial career with the New York Giants in 1956. He was the last manager of the New York Giants (1956-57) and the first manager of the San Francisco Giants (1958-60). He then became the first manager of the expansion Los Angeles Angels in 1961, and managed the Los Angeles/California Angels until 1969. That was followed by three years with the Minnesota Twins (1970-72). He returned to the Giants for one final season in 1976.

Rigney’s best year was 1970, when the Twins won 98 games and the American League West title. The Twins were swept in three games in the American League Championship Series by the Baltimore Orioles. None of Rigney’s other teams finished higher than third.

Bob Melvin: 1224 Wins, 1172 Losses

Melvin is the current manager of the Oakland Athletics. He began his managerial career with the Seattle Mariners in 2003 and has also managed the Arizona Diamondbacks. Six of his teams have made it to the post season, but none have won a league championship. Melvin’s Athletics have finished with identical 97-65 records in the American League West, but they finished in second place behind the Houston Astros both times, and were eliminated in the Wild Card game both times. Melvin has done a lot with the low payroll, small market Athletics, so we think he has a good shot to eventually take a team to a World Series.

Ron Gardenhire: 1179 Wins, 1251 Losses

Gardenhire is the current manager of the Detroit Tigers, a club he has managed since 2018. He managed the Minnesota Twins from 2002 to 2014. Gardenhire’s Twins won six American League Central titles between 2002-2010, but won only one post season series and never won the American League pennant. His last four Twins teams finished no higher than fourth. His Tigers were 64-98 in 2018 and 47-114 in 2019, so perhaps he’s lost that touch he had prior to 2011.

Art Howe: 1129 Wins, 1137 Losses

Howe managed 14 seasons between 1989 and 2004 He managed the Houston Astros (1989-93), Oakland Athletics (1996-2002), and New York Mets (2003-4). Howe’s Athletics won the American League West in 2000 and 2002; they were also a Wild Card team in 2001. All three teams lost in the A.L. Division series 3 games to 2. The 2002 team was the subject of the film “Moneyball” (2011).

Frank Robinson: 1065 Wins, 1176 Losses

In 1975, Frank Robinson became the first African American manager in Major League Baseball history when he was hired as a player-manager for the Cleveland Indians. Robinson managed 16 seasons in the majors between 1975-2006. He managed Cleveland from 1975-77, the San Francisco Giants from ’81-’84, the Baltimore Orioles from ’88-91. After an 11-year hiatus from the field, he returned to manage the Montreal Expos in 2002. Robinson continued with the franchise after it moved to Washington DC and became the Nationals in 2005, and he closed out his managerial career with one final season in 2006.

Robinson’s best record was 87-75, which he accomplished with the 1982 Giants and 1989 Orioles. The ’89 Orioles were probably the pinnacle of his managerial career; Baltimore finished 2nd in the A.L. East and Robinson was named A.L. Manager of the Year. However, neither that club nor any other that he managed made it to the post season. This was in contrast to his outstanding career as a player, which included five World Series appearances with the Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles. Robinson was was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.

Felipe Alou: 1033 Wins, 1021 Losses

Alou managed the Montreal Expos from 1992 to 2001, and the San Francisco Giants from 2003-2006. His ’93 Expos were 94-68, finishing 2nd in the National League East, three games behind Philadelphia. His ’94 Expos were 74-40, in first place with a six game lead over Atlanta in the N.L. East in 1994 but, like Buck Showalter, his club’s likely post season berth was wiped out by the player’s strike that year.

Alou’s 2003 San Francisco Giants club won the National League West with a 100-61 record. San Francisco lost to the Wild Card Florida Marlins three games to one in the National League Division Series. The Marlins went on to win the World Series that year. The Marlins series was Alou’s only post season appearance as a manager.