Why Mark Kotsay Stuck with Joe Boyle

Jason Burke | Aug 25, 2024

Aug 24, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay (7) watches starting pitcher Joe Boyle (35) throw a pitch after Boyle was struck by a batted ball against the Milwaukee Brewers during the second inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

With the Oakland Athletics down 3-1 and starter Joe Boyle's pitch count already elevated in the fifth, A's manager Mark Kotsay had left-hander T.J. McFarland warm up in the bullpen. The inning started well enough, with the first batter, Jackson Chourio, grounding out to second, and the next batter, William Contreras, striking out.

McFarland was warming up for the potential fourth batter in the frame, Jake Bauers, and after a two-out single from Willy Adames, Bauers stepped into the box--but Kotsay didn't emerge from the dugout to get his starter and make a change. Instead, he let Boyle face the lefty, and Bauers crushed a two-run homer.

The next batter, Rhys Hoskins, struck out to end the inning and Boyle's outing.

This move--or lack thereof--was a little perplexing, so we asked Kotsay about some of the determining factors that led to the decision to leave Boyle in the game in that spot.

"Yeah, you know, Hoskins was behind him, and really just trying to get these young starters through those moments, trying to get them deeper into games. And especially for Joe, we go to the bullpen in the [fifth] there, we're going to run through some arms, and the goal was to to get him through that moment. But also, he struck Bauers out the at-bat prior. He's still throwing 98 miles an hour. Bauers is a 36% strikeout guy, so I felt still confident in that matchup."

With the A's out of postseason contention and a young starter on the mound making just his 13th start in a big-league game, the reasoning makes sense. You could easily see a post-game interview with Boyle in the coming years where that belief Kotsay showed on Saturday gets mentioned as a building block. The rest of the 2024 season will continue to be about developing these young guys and making them into useful pieces in the years to come.

Not all progress is made in a straight upward-facing line. There are bumps along the way, and Kotsay knows that. With everything going on off-the-field, Kotsay has been the perfect choice to manage this club for he past three seasons because he has the same demeanor each and every day, and when the losses have piled up the past two years, that steady presence has been important in the A's clubhouse.

He's in a bit of a thankless position right now with the team departing Oakland following the season, and the fans that will be attending his games in 2025 and beyond unaware of the work that has gone into building this team, but he has navigated both the on-field progress of his guys as well as the off-field question he receives regularly, which is more than any other manager in baseball has been asked to deal with.

At some point he's going to win a Manager of the Year award, and a large part of the work that he is doing now is what will help make that a reality. While leaving Boyle in this time didn't work out results-wise, this was a learning experience for the next time a similar situation rolls around and the game counts for a little more.