In 2023, Craig Counsell piloted the Brewers to 92 wins along with the third division title and fifth playoff appearance in his eight years at the helm. Counsell, however, became a free agent after that season, and the Cubs swooped in quickly.
Just two years later, Counsell is preparing to defeat Milwaukee in the 2025 NLDS. That’s tied for the fewest seasons between a manager leaving one club and then facing said club in the playoffs. Here is a list of other managers — including a couple of Hall of Famers — who matched up against their previous team in October soon after moving off of their bench. The list is ordered by the number of seasons between the manager’s departure from a team and when they saw that team in the postseason.
McNamara took over the the reigning AL West champions in 1983, but the club faltered that season (70-92) and worked its way up to only .500 in 1984. With his contract expired, McNamara decided to move on to Boston, which hadn’t been to the postseason in 10 years. In his second season, McNamara got the team all the way to the World Series. On the way there, the Red Sox ran into the Angels in the ALCS. Boston climbed out of a 3-1 series deficit in a matchup that will be forever remembered for Dave Henderson’s go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth inning of Game 5, with the Red Sox one strike away from elimination.
The ’86 pennant gave McNamara his only trip to the Fall Classic in 19 seasons as a manager with six franchises. He returned to the Angels as an instructor in the early ’90s and went 10-18 as their interim manager in 1996, his final year as a big league skipper.
Martin helmed the A’s from 1980-82, a period that is sandwiched between the five times he either resigned or was fired as Yankees manager. He won the World Series with New York in 1977 and soon after he was fired in ’79, he latched on with Oakland. The A’s finished in first place during the shortened 1981 season, which would be their only postseason appearance between 1976-87. They swept the Royals in the Division Series, but the Yankees returned the favor in the ALCS, outscoring Oakland 20-4 in the three-game set.
McCarthy got good results in his five seasons with the Cubs as he transformed what had been an also-ran franchise for the better part of 15 years into a contender. He won 91 games in 1928 and an NL-best 98 games the following season. That club ultimately lost the 1929 World Series in five games to the Philadelphia Athletics. McCarthy was let go by the Cubs after the 1930 season and hired by the Yankees, with whom he would turn what had been a good managerial career into a legendary one.
McCarthy’s Yankees captured eight pennants, seven World Series titles and recorded a .627 winning percentage in his 16 seasons on the job. Those Bronx Bombers faced the Cubs twice in the Fall Classic. The first meeting in 1932 is known for Babe Ruth’s