A's Manager Mark Kotsay Deserves Award Recognition

Jason Burke | Sep 10, 2024

Jul 21, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay (7) before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Mark Kotsay isn't going to win the American League Manager of the Year award this offseason. That honor always goes to the manager of a team that went at least .500, and Kotsay's Oakland A's, at 62-82 entering play on Tuesday, will not reach that mark. Yet, the team is one win away from avoiding a third straight 100-loss season, the team is turning a corner, and he's also had to deal with the whole relocation issue on top of everything.

No manager's job has been as tricky to navigate as Kotsay's. The Chicago White Sox (33-112) have been having a terrible season and fired their manager last month. After the A's lost 112 games last season, Kotsay received a one-year contract extension. He never lost the clubhouse, and that's because of the positive energy he brings day in and day out.

"A lot of us consider him a friend as much as a manager," A's closer Mason Miller said. "I think he does a really good job of being an approachable guy for us." Miller also says that his manager doesn't act like he's above the guys. "It's a lot more constructive."

JP Sears talked about how their manager is one of the guys, even standing in against Mason Miller during Miller's bullpen session. At the same time, Sears says that the A's skipper knows when he needs some encouraging words in the dugout during a start, and when he should stay away. Knowing your roster is huge for a manager, and his guys love him for it.

Having that touch with players is something that Zack Gelof can also attest to. The A's second baseman came into the season as arguably the face of the rebuilding franchise, but he has struggled to find the same success that he enjoyed in the second half of the 2023 season as a rookie.

"He's been very upfront and really good with communication, especially with my struggles. Coming into the year with the expectations, going from the two hole, he sat me down in his hotel room to talk about me moving down the order and how that doesn't change the plans that they have for me in this organization. It's still keeping me on my plan to be what's best for this team, and being completely upfront with that. He's been a great role model for a lot of young guys on this team, including myself, to what being a pro means."

While the A's have one of the younget rosters in baseball, they do have some veterans around to provide leadership. Left-hander T.J. McFarland is one of those guys. "He really cares for us, and you feel that when you go out there."

Earlier this summer Kotsay said that he's going to have to wear the wins and losses, but he's invested in the development of the roster. "There's no secret, the wins and losses will always be attached to me, but the success of those young players will also be attached to me. That's where the joy and the reward come from."

The job of the manager is ultimately wins and losses, but when Kotsay took over the roster in 2022, the A's has just traded away Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Chris Bassitt, Sean Manaea, and were just a few of months away from trading Frankie Montas. The wins were never going to come immediately, but the work that he has put in over the past three seasons as manager is starting to bear fruit. The A's are 25-21 since the All Star break and have put together back-to-back winning months in July and August.

There is a good chance that the A's will become a playoff team during their planned three or four year run in Sacramento, which begins next season. Reaching the postseason will likely land Kotsay a Manager of the Year award, but his guys think plenty of him already, even without the honor.

"Look around the game of baseball, or any sports game, a good coach, it's impossible to quantify," MIller said. "When you have someone that's viewed as a bad manager, it's a lot easier to say, 'they should have done this or they should have done that.' With Kots, he's here for us as people as much as he's here for us as a team and players. I just feel like his importance can't be stressed enough."

"I don't know what I expected from a big league manager," Gelof said, "but he fulfills everything that I feel like a big league manager should [be], especially with this group."