He is too young to be a legend, and too unassuming to be labeled a genius.
He's not flashy, fiery or remotely quirky. He didn't have a memorable playing career or an oft-quoted backstory. He's not Joe Maddon, Tony La Russa, Dusty Baker or Don Mattingly. In some ways, his persona as a manager is confoundingly difficult to summarize.
So I guess we'll have to settle for this:
Kevin Cash is the best manager in baseball today.
I'm sure that's not a universally accepted opinion,and would expect fierce pushback from some quarters even after the Rays skipper was named the American League Manager of the Year Tuesday evening. The last we saw of Cash, he was making a controversial — and I would argue misguided — pitching decision in Game 6 of the World Series.
But even that moment revealed Tampa Bay's good fortune in having Cash standing near the rail in the corner of any dugout. From the moment the game ended, Cash has taken on all questions with equal grace. He has walked a fine line between acknowledging the criticism and his own second-guessing without offering excuses or trying to recast the decision.
That's the real secret to Cash's success. And it's what sets him apart from so many others. It's his demeanor and honesty. His humility and empathy. Almost any long-time player or coach can make the decisions necessary during a three-hour game, but it's the way a manager handles the assortment of personalities, egos and relationships in a clubhouse that keeps a team performing day after day.
"Energy, no BS, consistency and authenticity," general manager Erik Neander said. "He's an excellent communicator who will address anything head-on and is very comfortable and secure in his own skin. And just a totally unique combination of fearlessness and humility that you can't even begin to describe how much it's appreciated and how much the players respond to it."
The Rays have had big personalities in the manager's office before. And both Lou Piniella and Maddon could be in baseball's Hall of Fame down the road. Cash may not wear his passion as brazenly as Piniella and he's not as erudite or outspoken as Maddon. And yet six years into his career, at age 42, Cash's .522 winning percentage is the best in franchise history.
"He just does a phenomenal job of bringing everybody together and optimizing everyone's strengths," said pitching coach Kyle Snyder. "It's not just players and (coaching) staff, it's everybody. Everyone feels included, everyone feels a level of safety that they can be themselves. No one is looking over their shoulders."
When Cash is asked what his most important job is as manager, he doesn't hesitate.
"It's being consistent, genuine, authentic with the people you work with every day," Cash said. "It would be wrong of myself or any of our staff to change depending on wins and losses. I don't think you'll be able to get players to really want to be in that environment. And our goal is to get them to want to be in an environment that we're proud of, and I think you do that by consistency and our staff is top notch with that."
To be sure, he has some advantages. The pressure in Tampa Bay is not nearly as intense as baseball-crazed and jumbo-sized media markets such as New York, Boston or Chicago. He also has the benefit of working for a remarkably savvy front office that doesn't overreact to stumbles.
But in other ways, Cash's job is the most challenging in the league. The obvious drawback is having less money to spend than almost any other franchise for player salaries, but that's only part of the equation.
The Rays cannot afford a lineup of set regulars and are constantly reinventing their roster. In the past five seasons, the Rays have been led in home runs by five different players. They've been led in wins by five different pitchers.
And the way the Rays compensate for their lack of revenues is with a roster of movable pieces. And that means Cash is required to use more lineups and make more in-game decisions than almost any other manager.
No team in the AL used more pinch-hitters than the Rays. Tampa Bay was also in the top 10 in MLB in pitching changes.
"I don't think any other team provides their manager with as many potential decisions, both pre- and in-game, given how we construct our team," Rays president Matt Silverman said. "We couldn't succeed without him doing a masterful job."
