Last Updated: June 17th, 2026 by Michael Griffin
When a baseball manager makes a bad decision, it might take a bit to unfold, like a slow-motion train wreck. Other sports can make it quickly obvious, like Seahawks fans immediately regretting Pete Carroll’s decision to throw the ball at the goal line rather than keep handing it to their battering ram running back Marshawn Lynch. On the baseball side, Dusty Baker took a season to run his Cubs pitchers’ arms into the ground, for instance. Here are 15 decisions that still make fans groan to this day:
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Grady Little Leaves Pedro In—Boston Can’t Bear to Watch
The 2003 ALCS, Game 7: Grady Little screwed this up twice. The first was his sending Pedro out to pitch again after usually putting in a reliever in that instance. Martinez had to try to reactivate his focus. Then, after he got into trouble, he walked out to the mound and stunned the pitcher by patting him on the shoulder and leaving him in. The Yankees pounced and tied the game. Only then did he take his ace out. Despite his getting this Sox squad this far, the front office had no choice but to let him go that offseason and replace him with Terry Francona.
Buck Showalter Benches Britton, O’s Fans Reach for the Tums
2016 Wild Card Game: Zach Britton, the best closer in baseball, stood watching in the bullpen as lesser arms imploded in extra innings. Even to this day, Orioles fans are yelling for him to put Britton in.
Buck Showalter Leaves In Jack McDowell—Yankees Fans Still Cringe
1995 ALDS: Jack McDowell, a former Cy Young winner for the White Sox, had a great ’95 season for the Yankees, winning 15 games. That being said, Buck Showalter’s decision to leave his tired starter in to pitch the 11th inning, instead of turning to closer John Wetteland, proved fatal. McDowell gave up the series-winning double to Edgar Martinez. Mariners still have that footage of EMart’s double sending a jubilant Griffey home playing non-stop in their heads. Showalter was shown the door, and some guy named Joe Torre took over.
Gene Mauch’s Collapse: The Phillies Phold of ’64
1964: Gene Mauch was one of those managers who was too smart for his own good. He was so intent on getting a pennant, Mauch rode his two aces into the ground, starting them on short rest over and over. The Phillies lost 10 straight, blowing a 6.5-game lead and crushing Philly fans’ hearts again.
Chuck Dressen Puts In Branca—The Shot Heard ’Round the World
1951 NL Pennant: With Bobby Thomson looming, Dressen brought in an overused Ralph Branca, who promptly served up one of the most famous home runs in history. While it tore Dodgers fans’ hearts apart, ironically, Thomson and Branca became best friends later on.
Joe Torre Picks Weaver Over Rivera—Yankees Fans Gasp in ’03
2003 World Series, Game 4: Look, no one is perfect. Torre, who had an AMAZING run in the late 90s and early 2000s, turned to Jeff Weaver in extra innings instead of the legendary Mariano Rivera. The Marlins walked it off, and Torre had his strategy turn bad, for once.
Joe Torre Bats A-Rod Eighth—Yankees Nation in Shock
2006 ALDS: With A-Rod slumping, Torre dropped the former MVP to eighth in the order—a move that shocked fans and media alike. Sometimes moves like this work and it galvanizes the player. Rodriguez continued to struggle and the Yankees lost.
Mike Hargrove’s Mesa Meltdown—’97 World Series Woes
1997 World Series, Game 7: Indians skipper Hargrove stuck with closer José Mesa in the ninth, despite showing signs of faltering. Just like Little, he must have been hoping Mesa would work through it. Nope. The Marlins tied it, then won in extras, leaving Cleveland cursed and still looking for a World Series championship since ’48.
John McNamara’s Bill Buckner Blunder—Booted Dreams
1986 World Series, Game 6: Despite thousands of words written about how sentimental the game is, there are times when cold reason should still reign. McNamara left the hobbled Bill Buckner at first base instead of following his usual pattern of putting in Dave Stapleton as a defensive replacement in the late innings. He wanted the veteran, who had played through so much pain, to be on the field when the Sox, who were leading by two runs at the time, won the Series. Oops. After three two-out hits and a wild pitch, Mookie Wilson’s grounder rolled through Buckner’s legs. McNamara could only stand and stare stoically while Shea shook in pandemonium around him.
Terry Collins’ Familia Fiasco—World Series Game 5 Gaffe
2015 World Series: The 1986 Mets benefited from an opposing manager’s sentimentality. This time, it bit their own manager in the rear. Collins let Matt Harvey talk him into sending him out for the ninth, then went to Jeurys Familia after trouble had started. This time, it was the hometown faithful that had to watch while their opponents celebrated.
Bob Brenly Leaves Byung-Hyun Kim In—Yankees Make Him Pay
2001 World Series, Games 4 & 5: Brenly left his young closer in far too long on back-to-back nights. The Yankees rallied for two iconic walk-offs, and Diamondbacks fans nearly saw a title slip through their fingers, though Luis Gonzalez rescued them with that bloop single in Game 7.
Joe Maddon’s Chapman Overuse—Cubs Fans White-Knuckle It
2016 World Series: Maddon treated Aroldis Chapman like a new toy, running him ragged by bringing him in unusual situations, leaving him gassed for Game 7. The Cubs survived and won their first Series since 1908, but it was despite Maddon, not because of him.
Terry Bevington’s Bullpen Blunder—Nobody Warming Up
1997: Maybe he’d been asleep during the game. In a surreal moment, Bevington signaled for a reliever who wasn’t even warming up. The results were predictably bad.
Kevin Cash Pulls Snell Early—Rays Fans Scream at the TV
2020 World Series, Game 6: Cash yanked a dominant Blake Snell in the sixth, following the numbers and ignoring the moment. Even amateur lip-readers could tell what Snell said when he saw Cash making his way to the mound. Ironically, Snell is now on the team that beat him, the Dodgers.
Danny Ozark Leaves Luzinski In—Disaster in Left Field
1977 NLCS: Doesn’t Ozark look like a kindly old grandpa here? He was 53 when this happened. Oof. Anyways,apparently, he had a senior moment and forgot to replace Greg Luzinski in left field late in the game—and a crucial fly ball dropped in. Phillies fans had to wait three more years to win a Series, and Ozark had to watch Dallas Green manage that squad