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Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre, then with the New York Yankees, returning to the dugout (September 2005).

In baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager (or more formally, the field manager); this individual controls matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized. The manager sets the line-up and starting pitcher before each game, and makes substitutions throughout the game – among the most significant being those decisions regarding when to bring in a relief pitcher. How much control a manager takes in player strategy varies from one manager to another. Some managers control pitch selection, defensive positioning, decisions to bunt/steal/pitch out, etc., while others leave these decisions to a player's or assistant coach's discretion. Most find a balance somewhere in the middle. Some managers choose to act as their team's first base or third base coach while their team is batting in order to more closely communicate with baserunners, but most managers delegate this responsibility to an assistant.

In modern professional baseball, the field manager is normally subordinate to the team's general manager, who among other things is responsible for personnel decisions, including hiring and firing the field manager. However, the term manager used without qualification almost always refers to the field manager, while the general manager is often called the GM.

[edit] Current MLB managers

Bobby Cox is currently the longest serving manager, having been with the Atlanta Braves since 1990

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Baseball managers

• Major League Baseball all-time managerial wins
• Manager of the Year
• The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award
• This Year in Baseball Awards (including manager)
• Sporting News Manager of the Decade (2009)

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