What's different for Brad Ausmus as he returns as Astros manager? His understanding of data

Brad Ausmus landed his first major-league manager job in 2014, three seasons removed from his playing career. After managing for the Tigers and Angels, Ausmus spent the next seven seasons as a bench coach or away from baseball, but that ultimately proved a hiatus from the helm.

Ausmus, 57, officially began his third managerial job Friday with the Houston Astros, rejoining a franchise where he is the career leader in games caught. Ausmus initially interviewed for a then-vacancy at general manager, he said, but will return instead to the Houston dugout.

"The two main motivations (to manage again) are the competition and the camaraderie," Ausmus said at his introductory news conference. "That's what I enjoyed as a player and you still get that as a manager.

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"The going up against the other team, trying to outplay them, outsmart them, whatever it is. And then the camaraderie, being part of the group. Not necessarily on the player level, but you're still part of the group with the coaching staff and the players, you have one common goal every night and that's to win. Those are the things that when you step away from the game you kind of miss."

Both of Ausmus' previous managerial stops yielded sub-.500 records. The Tigers made the playoffs in his first year but went 314-332 in four seasons under Ausmus and did not retain him after the 2017 season. After one season as a special assistant for the Angels, Ausmus became the team's manager in 2019. The Angels went 72-90 that year, then fired Ausmus and replaced him with Joe Maddon.

Ausmus returned to the majors in 2022 as bench coach of the Athletics for one season. He served three seasons as Yankees bench coach before the Astros hired him. Astros general manager Randy Flores said he was intrigued by Ausmus' "evolution" since his last managing job in areas such as dealing with media and use of data and analytical tools, citing particularly his tenure in New York.

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Friday, Ausmus said one reason he took the front-office job with the Angels in 2018 was for "diving into" data use and that process has continued at his subsequent stops. Ausmus also spent three seasons as a special assistant to baseball operations with the Padres from 2011-13 before becoming the manager in Detroit.

"I have kind of grown my knowledge of the data side of the game," Ausmus said. "I know a lot of times it's old school versus new school when it comes to data, but data is very valuable. You don't necessarily have to live and die by data in every instance, but it's extremely valuable in making decisions and putting together a roster.

"That's the part of me that has probably grown the most over the last 10 years, truthfully. And it was intentional. I wanted to learn that side of it. Because I played in an era where it was batting average and some on-base percentage and home runs and hits, and there's information out there that can be more valuable, more detailed."

Hearing it may appeal to anyone concerned about the Astros' direction. Flores, the former major-league reliever who spent the last 11 years in the Cardinals front office, described analytics as "the fabric (and) the foundation of … evidence-based decision making" earlier this month and his approach as "a blend of both" that and traditional feel.

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The wealth of ready information requires a more "collaborative" effort between a front office, manager and staff now than when Ausmus first managed, he acknowledged. Coaches' ability to convey that information to players in an effective way is key and a reason Ausmus said the Astros will be "thorough" in the search to build out their major-league staff in the coming weeks.

Ausmus offered few initial thoughts Friday on the roster he inherits - other than to note that "having a roster that is headlined by Yordan Alvarez is a big plus." Nor did Ausmus specify anything he intends to do differently in his third managing job from his previous two. That may start to become more apparent whenever next season begins.

"I don't know that I'll get into actual changes because I think each roster's a little different and players are a little different," Ausmus said. "But there's no question that what I've learned since my last managerial gig is going to help me moving forward. I think those experiences are an asset at this point."

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This article originally published at What's different for Brad Ausmus as he returns as Astros manager? His understanding of data.