Pittsburgh Pirates Matt Walbeck Wins Double-A Manager Of The Year, Then Gets Fired
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Former big-league catcher Matt Walbeck was recently named Double-A manager of the year and nearly two weeks after guiding the Altoona Curve to the Eastern League championship he was fired by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Walbeck has a .543 winning percentage, four manager of the year awards, and three championships in six seasons as a minor league manager and the 41-year-old has made it clear that he’d like to move up the organizational ladder.
The Pirates apparently had issues with Walbeck in terms of his communications with staff and players. That was the No. 1 influencing factor here. No specific examples were given, but it’s always been very important to this management team to have cohesion in the area of instruction and development, so that prospects can progress steadily through the system without having to adjust to new styles or terminology. The team feels it can do better in that regard, so it made the move.
“It’s funny in this business where you think you’re in, and then you’re out” Walbeck said.
The one rare winning sight in a losing organization is now gone and is definitely an honorable mention for Mama Margie’s Major Meltdown of the week.
