Where Have All The Captains Gone?

A few days ago I came across a question asked by a novice baseball fan. It was a he and he said he didn’t see a “C” on any MLB team uniforms. That is the “C” worn by the captain of a team. He asked if MLB teams had captains as in other major team sports. Once again it brought back a memory of an article I have written back in 2013 when I asked the same question but not as a novice. I more so asked what has happened to the captains. Perhaps the only captains I remember are Pee Wee Reese and Derek Jeter although Jeter was more of an unofficial captain while Reese was a designated captain.

“Harold Pee Wee Reese was a captain of captains,” wrote Carl Erskine, a teammate of Reese for ten years. “Our infield was full of captains – Roy Campanella was like a field general; Gil Hodges, a sharp thinker with baseball savvy; Jackie Robinson, smart, aggressive. Any of them could have been a captain. Pee Wee, however, was the respected leader. He played for at least four different type managers all of whom considered him their extension on the field.”

I also expect all Dodger fans realize there is now no Dodger captain and there has not been one for quite some time. I was fully aware of the captaincy vacancy with the Dodgers but I was amazed to learn that there have been only five official captains in Dodger history, most of them with a brief tenure – Pee Wee Reese (1949-1958), Duke Snider (1962), Maury Wills (1963-66), Willie Davis (1973), Davey Lopes (1978-79). In fact, at the time I wrote the article there were only three MLB team captains – Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, David Wright of the New York Mets and Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox. Three great choices. Wright was the last captain standing and retired in 2018.

National Football League teams have captains as do National Hockey League teams, as well as National Basketball League teams. Why have professional baseball teams given up the position of “captain”? I would guess that as the game has evolved the position does not have the significance it did when Pee Wee Reese was captain or has simply become redundant with managers coming onto the field so often during the course of games. Perhaps the role of team captain is now seen as a distraction for a player working at the most difficult game to play in all of sports. It may also be noted that the captains in the other team sports mentioned above serve official functions which are designated by the league or team. Baseball captains have not and do not serve specific functions although some could be assigned duties such as presenting lineup cards at the beginning of the game.

What was the role of the baseball captain? According to Paul Konerko there was one specific duty that a captain can perform while he is on the field. A team captain can ask the umpire about the interpretation of a rule. For instance, a ruling on an an infield fly. If the umpire has used the wrong interpretation, the captain had the right to ask the umpire to consult with the other umpires on the field. The captain also had the right to ask the umpire if he was in the proper position to make the call. The team captain did not have the right to argue or verbally abuse the umpire, but he did have the right to ask questions. It seems to me that was a non-confrontational way to question a ruling on the field without shouting, screaming and kicking dirt.

Beyond asking about rule interpretations, a baseball captain could play a more subtle role on a team. He in essence becomes the face of the team on and off of the field. He may well not be the best player with the highest batting average or most home runs but the one who best represents the team. Although I am not one to applaud unwritten rules, there may be some unwritten ones for the captain, a set of expectations so to speak. A captain, a highly respected player on the team, may serve as an intermediary for the manager in dealing with player personnel issues. That is, he can help avoid a manager-player confrontation with a quiet conversation with a teammate or even help avoid the necessity of a full team meeting with the manager.

Every team has a heart beat, a pulse that makes it a living entity and different from every other team. A captain takes the blood pressure of the team, checks the pulse rates, and observes what his teammates are thinking and feeling. The team captain definitely has to understand what his teammates are thinking and feeling and even have some understanding of why they think and feel as they do. He then becomes a representative for his teammates taking their concerns to the coaching staff or manager when the players are unwilling or unable to do do themselves. As with all difficulties early intervention is something a captain can provide to help avoid more serious issues.

Perhaps one of the greatest roles a team captain can play is to help young players – rookies – to adjust to major league baseball and especially to the team. It may be as simple as how to dress for a road game or as complicated as how to deal with the inevitable failure that baseball inflicts on all players, especially those that are young. Perhaps part of his role may be to help young players understand the unwritten rules of the game and the etiquette that infiltrates the game on the field.

So how did the role of team captain die in MLB?  The death of Dodger captains, and on other teams,  pretty much follows free agency. I don’t believe that a huge contract automatically would rule out a player from being a captain. His personality and style of play would compensate for that and make him approachable. eg. Derek Jeter (20 years), Paul Konerko (18 years), David Wright (14 years).  At the same time a great team player regardless of his salary would have the respect of the other players in my opinion. He leads by example. However, the movement from team to team would definitely be a deterrent to being captains. The last three captains all played out their careers with one team although Konerko did split his first season between the Dodgers and Reds.

The evolution of the games has changed on field procedures a lot. At one time playing managers were common, then captains to perform the duties of playing managers. In time managers and coaches took over the duties of the captain so the job became somewhat redundant. It eventually became more of an honorary position.

In other team sports head coaches aren’t permitted on the playing area (hockey arena, basketball court, football field). There is a bit of leeway in football and basketball but anything serious results in a penalty to the team or removal from the game. Managers in baseball are frequently on the field so a captain is not necessary to ask questions of umpires.

I am not advocating for a return to a time when a MLB team had a captain. I know that on teams there are players that assume the role of a captain without being designated. Their personality, work ethic, experience, empathy simply cast them willingly or unwillingly into that role. Perhaps there are  no longer any Pee Wee Reese’s but most teams most likely have a Justin Turner. The demise of the captain in MLB is just one more piece of baseball gone.