Boston Red Sox (2002–2003) In March 2002, the
Boston Red Sox hired Little as their manager. Little was enormously popular with his players as he enhanced the loose nature of the clubhouse and supported struggling players. His tenure was successful, as the Red Sox won a combined 188 games in his two seasons and nearly took the pennant in 2003. However, the 2003 season (and Little's entire tenure with the Red Sox) is mostly remembered for his controversial decision during Game 7 of the
2003 American League Championship Series against the
New York Yankees. The Red Sox led the game 5–2 in the 8th inning, and were five outs away from reaching the
World Series. Little visited the mound after
starting pitcher Pedro Martínez gave up two hits, including a double from
Derek Jeter and a single that scored him, but he decided against taking out the ace pitcher, who had thrown 115 pitches to that point. After a ground rule double from
Hideki Matsui in the next at-bat, the Yankees tied the game with the following at-bat when
Jorge Posada hit a two-run bloop double, and went on to win the game (and the pennant) in the 11th inning off of a home run by
Aaron Boone. Little was the target of great angst in the aftermath of the Red Sox' loss (which turned out to be the final manifestation of the so-called
Curse of the Bambino). Critics pointed out that Martinez' ERA almost tripled when his pitch count exceeded 100, and the Red Sox had three well-rested relief pitchers (
Alan Embree,
Mike Timlin, and
Scott Williamson) in the bullpen waiting to take over in the eighth inning with a three-run lead. In fact, the strong performance of the bullpen in relief of Martinez that day would seem to suggest that Little's decision was ultimately responsible for the Game 7 ALCS result. Supporters responded that Little's decision to trust Martinez was in keeping with his intuitive style that had brought the Red Sox that far in the first place. Nevertheless, the Red Sox front office decided a change was needed and declined to renew Little's contract. In his post mortem of Little's ouster, sportswriter
Rob Neyer argued that Little had ignored reams of data that showed Martinez was not the same pitcher after 105-110 pitches. As Neyer put it, Little "didn't make the decision he'd been
told to make" by Red Sox management. He was replaced by
Terry Francona, who would go on to manage the club from 2004 to 2011 and lead them to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007. When Little's contract was not renewed by the Red Sox, the independent minor-league
Brockton Rox announced plans to give away Grady Little
bobble arm dolls to the first 1,000 fans to attend the May 29, 2004, game. The doll's arm bounces to simulate a manager's call to the bullpen, displays the date October 16, 2003 (the date of Game 7 of the ALCS) and Little's win total from the 2002 and 2003 seasons. The plans were canceled when Little objected to his likeness being used. In an agreement with the Rox, Little permitted the dolls to be sold with the provision that the money raised from the sale would go "to the Professional Baseball Scouting Foundation, which provides relief to retired scouts in financial peril".
Los Angeles Dodgers (2006–2007) Little spent 2004 and 2005 as a consultant, instructor, and scout with the
Chicago Cubs. On December 8, 2005, after an organizational shakeup that resulted in the dismissal of both manager
Jim Tracy and general manager
Paul DePodesta, the
Los Angeles Dodgers turned to Little to be the team's seventh manager since its 1958 move to Los Angeles. As manager of the Dodgers, Little was reunited with several players from the 2002–2003 Boston Red Sox teams, including pitcher
Derek Lowe, third baseman
Bill Mueller, and shortstop-turned-first baseman
Nomar Garciaparra. Little and new general manager
Ned Colletti were widely credited for bringing a fresh outlook to a team that had been wracked by instability over the previous decade. The Dodgers won 88 games in 2006 and earned the NL wild-card spot in the playoffs during Little's first season; however, they were swept by the
New York Mets in the
NLDS. Plagued by injuries to several key players and fielding a lineup loaded with youngsters, the Dodgers failed to reach the playoffs in 2007. Dodgers general manager
Ned Colletti initially confirmed that Little would return as manager of the ballclub in 2008. However, Little appeared hesitant to do so after Colletti partly blamed him and his staff for the Dodgers' disappointing 2007 season. Little failed to contact Colletti for over two weeks. This resulted in Colletti entering into a tentative agreement with
Joe Girardi, and when it fell through, negotiations with
Joe Torre began. Citing personal reasons, Little subsequently resigned on October 30, 2007. ==Front-office career==