Do clubs favourite sons ever make good coaches? A Set the default text size A Set large text size
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As the AFL’s 2021 season comes closer to the pointy end, the chatter around coaches for next year, especially among the non-finalists, will intensify.
One of the issues that springs to mind is whether clubs should seek a favourite son – a coach who has played for the club – or seek an outsider, as in a coach who at no time played for the club.
In looking at this I have examined premiership coaches from the last 50 years, from 1970 to 2020 inclusive, in terms of whether the coach has been a player at the club in question or whether from outside.
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April 21, 2021
When Mario Mendoza played his last season in the majors in 1982, he appeared in just 12 games and batted a paltry .118/.118/.118; his wRC+ was -41. If all you know about the former shortstop is that his name has become synonymous with failure at the plate, those numbers likely aren’t all that surprising.
During Mendoza’s time with the Mariners in 1979 and ’80, he struggled to keep his average above .200, inspiring teammates Bruce Bochte and Tom Paciorek to tease him, dubbing the elusive mark “The Mendoza Line.” The joke might have ended there, but Royals slugger George Brett caught wind of the phrase when he got off to a sluggish start to the 1980 season, to the amusement of Bochte and Paciorek. According to Mendoza, his Seattle teammates told Brett, “Hey, man, you’re going to sink down below the Mendoza Line if you’re not careful.” Brett later mentioned it to ESPN’s Chris Berman from ESPN; it spread from there.