The Last Manager

How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball

De: John W. Miller

Narrado por: Johnny Heller

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’ 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2025

“Baseball books don’t get any better than this...Earl Weaver has at last been given his due.” —George F. Will

“Vivid...Most sports books are pop flies to the infield. Miller’s is a screaming triple into the left field corner.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times

The first major biography of legendary Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver—who has been described as “the Copernicus of baseball” and “the grandfather of the modern game”—The Last Manager is a wild, thrilling, and hilarious ride with baseball’s most underappreciated genius, and one of its greatest characters.

Long before the Moneyball Era, the Earl of Baltimore reigned over baseball. History’s feistiest and most colorful manager, Earl Weaver transformed the sport by collecting and analyzing data in visionary ways, ultimately winning more games than anybody else during his time running the Orioles from 1968 to 1982.

When Weaver was hired by the Orioles, managers were still seen as coaches and inspirational leaders, more teachers of the game than strategists. Weaver invented new ways of building baseball teams, prioritizing on-base average, elite defense, and strike throwing. Weaver was the first manager to use a modern radar gun, and he pioneered the use of analytical data. By moving six-foot four-inch Cal Ripken Jr. to shortstop, Weaver paved the way for a generation of plus-sized superstar shortstops, such as Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. He foreshadowed almost everything that Bill James, Billy Beane, Theo Epstein, and hundreds of other big-brain baseball types would later present as innovations.

Beyond being a great baseball mind, Weaver was a rare baseball character. Major League Baseball is show business, and Weaver understood how much of his job was entertainment. Weaver’s legendary outbursts offered players cathartic relief from their own frustration, signaled his concern for the team, and fired up fans. In his frequent arguments with umpires, he hammed it up for the crowds, faked heart attacks, ripped bases out of the ground, and pretended to toss umpires out of the game. Weaver also fought with his players, especially Jim Palmer, but that creative tension contributed to stunning success and a hilarious clubhouse. During his tenure as major-league manager, the Orioles won the American League pennant in 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1979, each time winning more than 100 games.

The Last Manager uncovers the story of Weaver’s St. Louis childhood with a mobster uncle, his years of minor-league heartbreak, and his unlikely road to becoming a big-league manager, while tracing the evolution of the game from the old-time baseball of cross-country trains and “desk contracts” to the modern era of free agency, video analysis, and powerful player agents. Weaver’s career is a critical juncture in baseball history. He was the only manager to hold a job during the five years leading up to and the five years after free agency upended the sport in 1976.

Weaver was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996. “No manager belongs there more,” wrote Tom Boswell. “Weaver encapsulates the fire, the humor, the brains, the childishness, the wisdom and the goofy fun of baseball.” The Last Manager tells the story of one man—belligerent, genius, infamous—who left his mark on the game for generations.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Johnny Heller’s gravelly voice, conversational tone, and high energy do a good job of conveying Weaver’s character. Heller is mostly comfortable with the baseball jargon and stats—always a potential pitfall for narrators—and even with the inevitable profanity for which the Earl of Baltimore was infamous, especially when chewing out umpires. This biography draws heavily on interviews with Weaver’s contemporaries, and these are narrated without adornment. A story emerges about a seemingly old-school manager whose style foreshadowed the way the game is played today."

The Earl of Baltimore

I am not an Orioles fan (4th generation Red Sox fan) and I came into watching baseball as a seven-year old in 1982, so most of this book is new information to me. I had no idea EW brought the radar gun into MLB or that he was so obsessed with statistics. This is a phenomenal look back on a man who absolutely changed the game… for the better.

Great baseball book

Love it. Was a great baseball book. Highly recommended for anyone that loves the history of baseball.

A Complicated Genius Ahead of his Time

Loved everything about this book. The stories, the quotes, the players perspectives and the profile of Weaver himself. You don’t have to be an Orioles fan like me to enjoy this book — it’s for baseball fans everywhere. Earl was a fascinatingly complex figure who truly broke the mold; they truly don’t make Managers like Weaver anymore, but his influence still looms large on the game.

Nostalgic, I grew up with the Orioles

All good, except several names were mispronounced. Enjoyable story. Highly recommended for any baseball fan.

excellent baseball book

A great book about a flawed, yet very intelligent man. He helped bring the game ahead for the better. I grew up believing this is how baseball should be played.

A Must For All Baseball Fans

No doubt one of the best baseball books I have read or listened to. A lot of depth and history but not boring at all. Weaver was an entertaining character. As such, the content is very entertaining. My biggest takeaway was underestimating Earl as most of what I knew about him was his temper. I now know that he was indeed one of the greatest tacticians and all around baseball people ever. An awesome book!

THE EARL OF BALTIMORE... ALWAYS A TREAT!

I enjoyed Earl Weaver's story, and I enjoyed watching him manage his Orioles. The book did a fine job of capturing his emotions, his arguments with Palmer AND, of course, the Umpires.

The story was a treat... Because it picked up on a wonderful life, a Legend. Fine narration and story of an outstanding MLB Manager - Baseball Hall Of Fame, all the way!

Wonderful tribute to a Great Man!

GRADE: A

Earl Weaver is given his due…

When I sampled this audio book I was hooked. Earl Weaver misunderstood genius is given his due and introduced to old and new fans of baseball in a frank and honest biography. Author John W. Miller and narrator Johnny Heller evoke the spirit of Earl Weaver, painting a portrait of a flawed human being that was also, passionate, empathetic, supportive and not afraid to speak the bare unadulterated truth. He held no grudges and apologized when he was wrong. As I listened to the book Heller’s voice was well paced and I could hear the love and admiration of the author’s writing. I loved this book so much I listened to it four times straight, laughing and crying just as much the fourth time as the first time. I still laugh when I remember certain stories or quotes. Please read this book it also provides a summary of his administration philosophy.

A delight from start to finish

I laughed out loud and fought back tears learning Earl Weaver's story. The narrator matched the tone perfectly. The organization of the chapters was perfect for my commute, almost like there was a story within a story each time I listened. The cumulative story was like a heroic opera, with a flawed yet lovable protagonist, that I was rooting for all the way. I loved it!

His path to the majors was a long one.

As an Oriole fan from 1968 on, stories of Earl Weavers methods and antics were not new to me. What was new was his minor league career. He was actually a better player statistically than most of us knew in the ‘70s. Had he been five inches taller, he’d still be short for a major leaguer, but probably would have had a journeyman’s career as a second baseman and would not have had the opportunity to hone his craft of being one of the best managers of the era.