Dan Jennings 'Honored' to Lead Marlins Despite Mom's Concern
Dan Jennings becoming the 14th manager of the Miami Marlins was so shocking his own mother questioned his sanity.
"I must tell you, even my mom -- who I love -- she asked me am I crazy? Have you lost your mind?" Jennings said. "I come from a family with a father who's a coach. He's been coaching almost 50 years. We had one motto in my house as I was growing up and that is you can't win if you're afraid to lose.
"In my heart this is a playoff team. I love those kids in that clubhouse and I respect them and what they mean and why they're here. And that's the message that is now my job to convey to them."
A humbled Jennings sat beside David Samson and Michael Hill, President of the franchise and baseball operations, respectively, in the media room at Marlins Park Monday morning to officially announce a new ripple -- albeit an unorthodox one -- for a franchise desperate to make the postseason for the first time since 2003, when they won their second World Series title.
Jennings, succeeding Mike Redmond after the 16-22 start, was initially "very flattered" his name was brought up as a possibility in a phone call between David Samson and Michael Hill. As the Marlins' General Manager since 2013, Jennings himself questioned whether he would be the right man for the job considering his lack of experience in an MLB dugout.
"There was some soul searching on my part for the very reasons of the fact that I have never played in the big leagues or coached in the big leagues or managed in the big leagues, or even the minor leagues," Jennings said. "So in my heart, and with my beautiful wife Lori and my family, I had to get right with that with us before I would even consider it."
As for the expected duration of the Jennings Experiment, Hill proclaimed him the "manager for the remainder of the season."
The Marlins host the Diamondbacks this evening and Jennings is out to earn the players' trust in wake of his lack of MLB coaching or playing experience.
"Today we're gonna have a meeting," Jennings said. "That for me was the obstacle that I shared with Jeffrey, David and Michael. I have tremendous respect and very good relationships with quite a few of our players. I believe in the mindset that you give respect to get respect.
"One thing I'm certain of is managers don't win games in this league but you can certainly lose them."
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