Bob Melvin

 ( 1961 Births ) 

Melvin went on the Chris Townsend Show in the Bay Area after the first game of the 2012 season in Tokyo, and promised the fans that the Athletics would work hard every game. He managed the Athletics to the franchise's best-ever record in July at 19–5. On October 1, the Athletics clinched their first playoff appearance since 2006, and two days later clinched the American League West. For the regular season, the team was 94–68, a .580 win–loss percentage. In 2012, he used the fewest per game of all AL managers, at 0.10. The Athletics faced the Detroit Tigers in the Division Series. They lost the first two games in close fashion before going back to Oakland and winning tight affairs in Game 3 and 4 to force a pivotal Game 5 in Oakland. They were then shut out 6-0 to finish the series. Melvin was honored as the 2012 American League Manager of the Year. He became the 14th manager in history to win the award at least twice in a career, and the sixth manager to win the award in both leagues.

During the 2013 season, Melvin's second full season at the helm, the Athletics continued what began the previous year, posting winning records for every month of the season and securing a second consecutive American League West Division Championship. Athletics' outfielder Josh Reddick referred to Melvin as the "King of Platoons" due to his extensive use of platoon system. "Platooning and position-sharing here to stay," MLB.com. In the 2013 regular season, the team was 96–66 with a .593 win–loss percentage. They then faced the Tigers in the Division Series. Oakland won two of the first three games and even had Game 5 set up in Oakland. They lost Game 4 and then were shutout in Game 5 to once again lose at home.

In 2014, Melvin's Athletics entered the All-Star Break with the best record in the majors. While the team faded down the stretch, it still managed to clinch an AL Wild Card berth on the final day of the season. They played the Kansas City Royals in the 2014 American League Wild Card Game. They held a 7–3 at the end of seven innings but Melvin ran into trouble when starter Jon Lester (coming up to 100 pitches) allowed a series of hits, a pair of stolen bases (made worse with the loss of catcher Geovany Soto to injury) and a walk that made the score 7–4 with two runners on base. Only then did Melvin decide to finally take out Lester (at 111 pitches), after which the bullpen gave up two further runs in the inning but Oakland still led 7–6 in the ninth inning. Further timely baserunning and hits led to more unraveling as the game went into extra innings on a tying 9th inning run. The Athletics even led 8–7 in the bottom of the 12th but gave up the lead and lost on a walk-off single. In 2015, Melvin only had his players place eleven , the lowest number in the AL.

On July 29, 2017, he became the 64th MLB manager to win 1,000 games in his career. On September 28, 2017, the Athletics and Melvin agreed to extend his contract through the 2019 season. In 2017, he used the most per game of any AL manager (0.79), and the fewest per game (0.12).

On October 29, 2018, the Athletics awarded Melvin a long-term contract extension, through 2021 with a club option for 2022. On November 13, 2018, Melvin won his third Manager of the Year award, becoming just the 8th manager in MLB history win the award three times. "Athletics' Bob Melvin nabs AL Manager of the Year honors" ESPN. He won the award after leading the baseball team with the lowest Opening Day payroll to a 97–65 record and its first post-season in four years.

In 2019, he used the fewest pinch runners per game of all AL managers, at 0.07. On June 1, 2021; with a 12–6 win over the Seattle Mariners, Melvin tallied his 798th win as Athletics manager. This vaulted him past Tony La Russa to become the second-winningest manager in Athletics history, and the winningest in the West Coast portion of franchise history. In 2021 he led all AL managers with an average of 0.99 pinch hitters per game.

By the end of his Athletics tenure, his 853 wins were second-most in team history, behind only Hall of Fame manager Connie Mack. His 1,346 wins ranked 34th in MLB history. Among active Major League managers, only Dusty Baker, and Terry Francona had more wins. In Oakland, he had led them to six postseason appearances and three division titles; the Athletics lost in the first round in five of their six postseason appearances, winning just the 2020 AL Wild Card Series before losing in the 2020 ALDS. ESPN reported: "With the A's, Melvin developed a reputation as a players' manager as well as a keen strategist, and in a division in which his team often carried the lowest payroll, he found consistent success."

In his first season as manager, Melvin led the Padres to the postseason, the Padres first playoff berth in a full season since 2006. In the Wild Card Series, against the New York Mets, the Padres defeated the Mets 2-1 to advance. Under Melvin, the Padres defeated the 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers three-games-to-one in the 2022 National League Division Series, but lost the league championship series to the Philadelphia Phillies 4 games to 1. That season, he had the team issue the lowest rate of intentional walks in the league (in 0.1% of plate appearances).

In 2023, Melvin led the Padres to a record of 82-80. They finished third in the NL West, one spot ahead of the 79-83 Giants. His 1,517 regular season wins ranked 25th all-time and were third-most among active managers behind Bruce Bochy (2,093) and Buck Showalter (1,727). One of 15 managers with eight postseason appearances in MLB history, Melvin is the only one to have never won a league pennant.