Player-Manager Picks

The concept of having a person be a Major League player while also being a Major League manager is very familiar to the game of baseball. Though it was used much more in the early days of the game, the player-manager has been seen throughout the game’s history.

This got us thinking... If your favorite team’s manager took a leave of absence and you got to pick a player from your team to become a player-manager, who would you choose?

The Cave Dwellers dive in...

Ashley Chavez (SF): Buster Posey

Any rookie catcher who takes over a great veteran's position, gains the respect of an amazing pitching staff and leads them to the a WS victory is a born leader. He calls a great game (i.e. Matty Cain's perfect game) and is incredibly humble about it. We all know catchers make the best player-managers, because of their leadership skills, awareness of their team and the opposing team. So, Posey is the obvious choice.

Gordon Mack (PHI): Kyle Kendrick

I choose Kyle Kendrick because clearly Halladay, Chooch, Rollins, Howard, Utley, Hamels, etc. are not cut out to be leaders. In other, news I recently saw a pig fly.

Ricardo Marquez (LAA): Torii Hunter

I would definitely pick Torii Hunter to be the Angels next player-manager. Not only does he have an extensive knowledge of the game itself, but it would be hilarious to see him get upset at an outfielder and to just say, "forget it, I got it this inning.” TORII IS DEFINITELY NOT TOO OLD FOR THIS. That would be a Lethal Weapon reference.

Kyle Thompson (STL): Lance Berkman

I would choose the Puma because of how loose he is when he’s around the game. He does not seem to be wound very tight, and it is that attitude that would work well with his teammates. Also, he has a tremendous understanding of the game. He has played so long that there will not be very many situations that he could run into that would be unfamiliar to him.

Those are our picks, but now we want to hear your picks. If your favorite team’s manager took a leave of absence, whom would you choose from your squad to become the player-manager?

Tweet your responses to @MLBFanCave using the hash tag #PlayerManager.