Rookie Pilot Clayton McCullough Faces Formidable Task In Miami

Going from first to worst does not bother Clayton McCullough.

In fact, the rookie manager of the Miami Marlins says he’s ready for the formidable task of turning a losing team into a winner.

Like veteran Atlanta pilot Brian Snitker, McCullough was a minor-league catcher who became a coach, manager, and minor-league field coordinator before finally reaching the majors as first base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers under Dave Roberts.

“If I had played in the major leagues,” he said at Roger Dean Stadium Friday, “I’d be able to talk about things I felt first-hand. I just never looked at it as a hindrance one way or the other.”

Youth is Served

At age 45, he’s one of the youngest managers in the majors and just 15 years older than Sandy Alcantara, the former Cy Young Award winner who’s one of the oldest players on the young team.

“I couldn’t be more grateful for this,” he told sportswriter Bill Ballew for a profile printed in the Marlins edition of Grapefruit League Magazine. “I’ll try to work as hard as I can each day to make those in the organization proud.”

It won’t be easy: the Marlins finished last with 62 wins while using 70 different players, a dubious major-league record.

“The exciting part is the opportunity we’re going to give to a young and budding roster,” he said in the Ballew interview. “We have some real arm talent and some guys coming back from injury who are certainly going to help this year.”

McCullough said he wants his players expecting to win when they come to the ballpark. He also promised to be creative and innovative.

Although he’s the 17th manager since the Marlins joined the National League as a 1993 expansion team, McCullough has some big footsteps to follow.

Jim Leyland took the team to a surprise world championship via the wild-card route in 1997 and Jack McKeon did the same thing six years later. Joe Girardi, Don Mattingly, and Skip Schumaker were also named National League Managers of the Year.

Soliciting Advice

When McCullough went to the Baseball Winter Meetings last December, he asked other managers for their suggestions on how to avoid rookie mistakes.

“I talked to some of the other managers there so I at least know some of them in some fashion now,” he said. “I sought out advice from guys about their first time and how they went through it. It’s a great network and the guys are always open to help.”

For the last four years, he had a great role model in Dave Roberts, who has made a habit of leading the Dodgers into post-season play. The team won the 2024 World Series in five games against the favored New York Yankees.

A North Carolina native who grew up as a Braves fan after watching games on the TBS SuperStation, McCullough always had baseball in his blood: he’s the son of a long-time scout Howard McCullough, who worked for four different teams.

A minor-league manager since 2007, McCullough’s teams reached post-season play in their leagues five times, earning him a pair of Manager of the Year awards.

McCullough, wearing uniform No. 86 this spring, was hired just before Thanksgiving, with baseball operations president Peter Bendix citing his humility, work ethic, and player development experience as the ideal blend for the job.

“He can relate to anybody and can inspire anybody,” Bendix said at the time. “Those are great traits for a manager.”

The Marlins have never won a division crown in the tough National League East but have ridden the wild-card to a pair of world championships – the last in 2003. The team has never won 100 games in a season but has suffered through four seasons with triple-digit losses.

The return of Alcantara, a 6’5″ right-hander recovered from Tommy John elbow surgery, should stabilize a pitching staff that had 45 different performers last summer. He’ll pitch the first official game for McCullough when the Marlins launch the new season against Pittsburgh on March 27.

The top newcomer is a rookie slugger named Deyvison De Los Santos, who could boost the moribund Marlins offense after leading minor-league baseball with 40 home runs in 2024.

The Marlins also have 11 new coaches, all imported by McCullough. The best-known of that group is former Dodgers slugger Pedro Guerrero.