The decision by Kevin Cash to take out Blake Snell in a 1-0 game in the sixth inning of Game 6 of the World Series against the Dodgers sparked controversy around baseball regarding the balance of analytics and traditional baseball savvy.
More than a month after the final out, the Rays manager is still thinking about whether he made the right decisions.
“I did grind on [the decision in the offseason]. To some extent, I still am,” Cash said Wednesday. “You get so close to something that so many people have a hand in of getting there and being a game away from getting to Game 7, who knows what would’ve happened. If I didn’t, I think there would be something wrong with that.”
Cash replaced Snell with reliever Nick Anderson, and Tampa Bay went on to lose Game 6, 3-1. In the months following the controversial decision to remove Snell, Cash said he reached out to the former Cy Young Award winner to see how he was doing.
“We care about players and I think it was important to reach out to Blake and talk as a group throughout the offseason to check on guys and check on where their heads are at,” Cash said. “I can’t say enough about the way Blake handled in the aftermath.”
When asked about the ongoing discourse surrounding the old school versus new school managerial approach, Cash deflected, saying it was the job of others to talk about the topic.
“Our job is to do the best that we can to put players in a position to succeed and win as many games as possible,” Cash said. “Our players did a really good job of that.”