The Matheny Manifesto: A Young Manager's Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life

Absolutely fantastic book! I am a huge baseball fan and I remember watching Mike Matheny as a player, he was a work horse. Although not a hall of famer, as a former catcher, he understands the game and what it takes to win. Interestingly enough this book is not about winning but about having the right attitude. Matheny is a Christian and not afraid to stand his ground on his beliefs while at the same time being very respectful of others and their beliefs. Matheny was a youth league coach prior to becoming the Cardinals manager. His position on how overbearing and over involved parents have become in their children’s sports leagues inspired him to write the Matheny Manifesto, a roughly five page narrative that he wrote to the parents of the children he was coaching to give him the room to mentor and teach their kids during their practices and games without heckling, yelling, and interfering. In other words, let the coaches do their jobs during the two hours that you have entrusted your kids to them. It’s incredible these days how intense parents have become in youth league sports, yelling at umpires and coaches as well as their children when they either make mistakes or over achieve. Some kids become embarrassed and no longer want to play, treating a game that they enjoyed more like a chore to satisfy their parents who are vicariously living through them. Obviously it’s not all parents but there are enough of them that have created a toxic atmosphere in the realm of youth sports and I am glad Matheny chose to address this issue in a professional but firm manner. Matheny also shares his personal story about the journey to becoming a professional baseball player and it was very inspirational. It takes an incredible amount of work, dedication, talent, and skill to get to the big league level. I think in our society today, we are inundated with media stories about how much athletes get paid and this has a very intense impact on parents who want their kids to play sports and pursue a professional career not realizing just how difficult that and stressful that is. Matheny also focuses a lot on servant leadership and being a good mentor to his players both younger and older. At the end of the day, he coached youth league sports to teach young players about life skills such as team work, showing up, and staying positive no matter what circumstances occur. Carrying yourself in a cool, calm, and collected manner is paramount to success. There is a lot that a reader can take away from this book. It has had a very profound impact on my life, causing me to rethink some of my choices. My respect for Mike Matheny and the St. Louis Cardinals has skyrocketed. I wish the best for him, his family, and the Cardinals and am very grateful for his book. Thank you, Mike.

This is a wonderful guide to bringing children into the world of baseball (or sports in general) and LIFE. I was very impressed with Mike Matheny's account of how he dealt with children and young adults in today's world. Kudos to this coach and author - and kudos to all the young people he has helped along the way. Easy to read and easy to understand - especially if you have ever been a parent or coach. If you have ever wondered why one child takes one fork in the road and another takes the other, this book just might answer your question. Russell S. Smith, author of No Reason to Kill Retired police chief and long ago, a Little League baseball coach

“The Matheny Manifesto” is easy-to-read food for thought for little leaguers and their parents, and it has some stuff that will be of interest to other baseball fans, as well. The book begins with the author reading a letter, containing his philosophy of youth baseball, to a group of about 20 parents of little leaguers. The author didn’t think it was being received very well when “…after several agonizing seconds, one of the fathers surprised me by saying, ‘Well, I’m in.’” Later, the letter went viral and the book is an amplification of the letter with illustrations from the author’s experience as a major league catcher. The book is sometimes thought-provoking, sometimes humorous, sometimes puzzling, sometimes harrowing and, only occasionally, clichéd. The book is a good place to start in thinking about improving youth sports, although it left me with many questions. An example of the humor is “What can a man do who can’t see, can’t think, can’t remember? My only option was to become an umpire.” Some examples of puzzling passages would be: • “We may not win every game, but we will be the classiest coaches, players, and parents at every game we play.” How does this goal relate to the goal of humility? Wouldn’t it be more humble to aim to be the classiest people that we can be? Also, what exactly is meant by “classiest”? • “As a professional, I agree with the late Vince Lombardi’s adage, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” But it’s flat wrong to apply that to the amateur level. That’s no way to develop kids, but it’s a sure bet to eliminate sportsmanship, if that’s your aim.” This seems to contradict the author’s statements elsewhere about sportsmanship and character being important for professionals as well as kids. Does it depend on how “winning” is defined? • “Now, before you slam this book shut and label me just another turn-the-other-cheek Bible-thumper, hear me out. I don’t apologize for being a Bible guy. But I also believe strongly in standing up for those entrusted to my care and fighting for what is right. I believe too many men fail to fight for the things we should fight for, like our families, our marriages, and our faith.” I don’t think that turning the other cheek is the part of the Bible that Bible-thumpers are usually identified with, but how does this text relate to how we fight for what is right? What are our weapons? Sometimes, the book seems to endorse a kind of chip-on-the-shoulder machismo that is quick to resort to physical confrontation if someone disses one of our guys. I don’t think the author intends to communicate this, but it’s an example of some puzzling parts of the book. One of my favorite things about the book was reading about one of my childhood heroes, Bill “Bull” Freehan. His advice to the author about calling pitches and Spanish was fascinating. Also, there is an interesting “Afterword” by Bob Costas. Good for extra bases.

Let me start off by saying that I am a true blue Los Angeles Dodgers fan. The St. Louis Cardinals have been a thorn in the Dodger’s side for years. Both organizations are successful and respected. In my life time the Dodgers have faced the Cardinals in the postseason five times, the Dodgers have lost four of the five match ups. Therefore, I know the risk I was running being a Dodger fan, reading a book by the current Cardinal manager, Mike Matheny. All joking aside, I have a lot of respect for the Cardinals. I have a lot of respect for Tony LaRussa and I have read two books about his baseball managing career. Matheny had some big shoes to fill in 2012, when LaRussa led the Cardinals back from their final strike (twice) to win the World Series, but he has succeeded taking the Cardinals to the playoffs each season as manager. When Matheny was chosen as manager of the reigning World Series team, many were puzzled. Matheny had no managerial experience. He was only six years removed from his playing career, which was shut down abruptly by health issues relating to recurring concussion symptoms. But Matheny is strong leader with strong values. Ultimately, The Matheny Manifesto is an account of Matheny’s values that he integrates into his life. The manifesto originated when he was asked to manage youth baseball. Not wanting to be like every other little league coach, Matheny wrote out demands for himself, his staff, his players, and most importantly, the parents. He wanted to create a team of character. He wanted to create a team known for integrity and hard work. He did not care about winning. Winning happens when you do everything right. This is a great book. It should be required reading for anyone thinking about coach youth sports.

A coach asked my husband to read this book and I thought..if a coach wanted him to read it, then I as our son’s mother, I must read this too. What an incredible book. From start to finish I couldn’t put it down. I’ve told many moms they need to read this also. It’s convicting, encouraging, and shows the true reward that comes from holding ourselves accountable as parents + us holding our children accountable, too. 5 stars and then some. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a good read for anyone aspiring to coach.

I just started this book tonight and it hits very close to home so far. Well-written, too. His description of playing ball as a youth could be my story, except we played "fast pitch" with rubber balls against a wall more than wiffle ball (I'd forgotten about the "rule" that you could throw the wiffle ball at the runner to get him out!). And no parents. This year was my third and last year umpiring HS/MS baseball. The nonstop coach/fan abuse isn't worth the effort for me, I thought it would be fun to have something to do in the evenings during the Spring. Instead it's been three miserable seasons. Now, I can take abuse, and I can handle unruly adults in most situations, I've been a lawyer for 30+ years. But the onfield harassment is a whole higher level than "professional" disagreements in a courtroom. I had to toss my first coach in the first inning of my first game on the field because he put his hands on me. The mandatory policeman on the field had to drag him off the field. That's right, our association demanded that all schools had to have uniformed police at all games because of recent, past incidents; and allows us to refuse to take the field, or cancel the game, if it gets out of control. When there's 30 people at the game yelling balls and strikes (because apparently they can see better from 30 feet away at the wrong angle than I can standing right behind the catcher) instead of rooting for their kid, It's not fun, it's not even "neutral". It's a horrible feeling for me to have to do that to another adult, to put them in a "time out" on the bench or toss them from the game, or have the AD toss an unruly fan. The average HS official quits after their first or second year; the #1 reason given is coach/fan abuse. I could also see that many of the kids just aren't enjoying themselves. The official's association I'm in can't field enough baseball umpires to have even two at some games. We barely called MS games this year because of the lack of officials. The schools either cancelled the games or had to reschedule. Your kids' games, not mine. You think you know balls and strikes, and obscure rules better than someone who trained to do it, and has studied the rules (even now, even though I'm quitting, I still watch rules videos), then you do it. It's not my kid, not my kid's game that's getting cancelled. Recommend this read to all parents.

As a parent and coach of some of my own kids' teams, I have witnessed a few outstanding coaches in my days, many middle of the road, and more than a few disasters. Regrettably, I believe much of what is wrong in our nation today is reflected in the manner that our youth are coached. I can only hope that Mike Matheny and his fabulous book resonates today in the same way that John Wooden's classic books have over the years. Matheny is speaking to all of us on a national value system that has gone decidedly awry. Will we listen? I hope so. I could not put this book down and truly appreciated Matheny's genuine integrity and honesty throughout his recollections. He personifies the servant-leaders that our nation so badly needs but sorely lacks. The book may be largely about sports and Matheny's career but it is really a story about life. We need a lot more of what Mike Matheny is touting across this nation Do yourself a favor. Get this book, read it, and tell others to do the same. I am not ready to forsake my love of the Boston Red Sox but I am now a huge fan of Mike Matheny.