An underrated miracle worker….at age 42 took the worst White Sox team in history to a 23 game upturn in 1971....his accomplice pitching coach Johnny Sain....aided by shrewd trades and internal moves.....came in with a great pedigree being two time minor league manager of the year in AA (1968) and AAA (1970) in the Angels system....From Western Pennsylvania coal country....common ground with his superstar Dick Allen and the two clicked....8 game improvement 1972.....At this time Tanner becomes a known quality and eventually in high demand.....continues with three more years in Chicago’s south side, one year in Oakland (1976), nine years in Pittsburgh (1977-85) and finishing with three seasons in Atlanta (1986-89)....continuous employment over 19 years.....His Pirates stint was a case of mutual attraction....Growing up 40 miles south of Pittsburgh he was a Bucs fan..... So wanted by the Pirates he was traded in exchange for catcher Manny SanguillĂ©n and 100K....An extreme rare instance..... armed with considerable talent was able to pilot the Bucs to several winning seasons and more importantly the 1979 World Series Championship....knock on Tanner was that he looked the other way with club house drug use in the 80’s.....never won 100 games at the big league level....but did reach 101 in a combination 98 PCL wins and a 3-13 record in his 1970 debut with the Chisox.....was a 4th outfielder as a player.
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