He's Hired To Be Fired

How can a manager's true worth be accurately determined?

"The only way to tell who the best manager is is to use a system like duplicate bridge." says Herzog. "Give the managers the same teams and have them play 30 games against the same players."

Short of that, a skipper's performance under more conventional circumstances can serve as a clear gauge of class. Last year Martin performed miracles with the A's. And Virdon got the Astros into the playoffs without J.R. Richard. At one time or another Frey's Royals lost most of their offense to injury and illness and still made it into the World Series. And Green won it all with an aging and antipathetic team that fought him as hard as it did the rest of the National League.

There will be Managers of the Year for 1981. but their glory won't last long. Managers don't win games. Players do. Just ask a manager—the fellow over there in the unemployment line.