Could Bill Mueller Be The Next Boston Red Sox Manager?

The Boston Red Sox announced Thursday the dismissal of Bobby Valentine as the team's manager after a dismal 69-93 record in 2012.

The news was not unexpected after a season of discontent in New England, capped by a radio interview this week where Valentine was critical of members of his own coaching staff.

ESPN reports that Toronto Blue Jays Manager John Farrell, a former Boston Pitching Coach, is atop the team's wish list. But one of the other names speculated as a replacement is former Red Sox Third Baseman Bill Mueller, a De Smet Jesuit graduate from Maryland Heights.

Mueller was a member of the 2004 Red Sox team which swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. He's now a special assistant in the front office of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Former Red Sox infielder Kevin Millar, now a broadcaster with the MLB Network, told The Boston Herald in a story published last week that Mueller could follow in the footsteps of Mike Matheny (Cardinals) and Robin Ventura (White Sox), former players who have become successful managers at the major league level without any previous coaching experience.

“Billy Mueller is one of my favorite human beings in the world,” Millar told the paper. “He’s a baseball guy. He’s very similar to a Robin Ventura type of personality, if you were to ask me. Sneaky funny, quiet, to himself, but very knowledgeable. He’s got a leadership quality about him as a quiet leader. It just takes one person to give you an opportunity and then good things can happen.”