The Last Manager by John W. Miller is a solid book subtitled How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball. Miller is a magazine and newspaper writer and provides an in-depth look at the Hall of Fame manager of the Baltimore Orioles from 1968 to 1982, averaging 97 wins a season.
Looking at situational stats was another innovation of Weaver's, seeing how a batter did against a certain pitcher or vice versa. He championed the idea of using a radar gun to measure pitching, especially the difference between speeds of fastball vs. off-speed pitches. Also, before Cal Ripken Jr. played shortstop for Weaver, players at that position tended to be smaller and not expected to be huge run generators.
Also covered by Miller is both how the MLB manager has changed through the years, going from being an omnipotent face of the organization to one who gets along with rather than leading by fear their much more highly-paid players. He notes how the ubiquity of baseball also changed with the advent of television. Before that, entertainment had to be gone to so attending minor league games was more popular than when people were able to stay at home and watch tv. The drop in leagues and teams during this time was precipitous.
Miller provides a thorough biography of Weaver, from him growing up in St. Louis, through his never realized dreams of making it as a major league player, his managing career that started at thirty-seven years old, and death in 2013. He was also the only manager to hold a job both in the five years before free agency in 1976 and in the five years after. Along with Cal Ripken Jr., other famous players Weaver managed on the Orioles included Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, Boog Powell, and Jim Palmer.
