Earl Weaver was a great manager, and perhaps the greatest at one thing: Getting ejected from a game.
Weaver, who died early Saturday while on a Caribbean cruise, did it for motivational purposes at times, and at times just because he was so mad. (One of his best? Check this link on YouTube of an epic meltdown that was caught on microphone.)
Nobody really does that anymore, perhaps because from a distance, it seems so pointless. When is the last time an argument actually changed somebody's mind?
But in Weaver's day, it seemed a lot more common. Billy Martin had some epic meltdowns with umpires. Bobby Cox was the most-ejected skipper ever, but he got there on longevity. Lou Piniella had some great arguments.
But they're all either retired or dead now. Today's managers seem more likely to sit back and examine some statistics than kick dirt or pull a base out of its foundation. Sure, there still were 178 ejections last season, and getting run from a game is still a staple of the manager's handbook. But Joe Maddon actually tells umpires that he loves them.
Never could see Earl Weaver doing that.
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