Baseball Welcomes a New Class : Major leagues: Additions of Lachemann, Perez and Baylor may signal new priorities for hiring managers.

No one can possibly find much wrong with baseball’s latest crop of new managers.

Though some sneer that Florida’s Rene Lachemann is a two-time managerial loser, the fact is he paid his dues as a coach for several years under Oakland’s Tony La Russa as he waited for another opportunity.

It is ironic that Colorado is being applauded for hiring Don Baylor, who has no managerial experience, by the same people who lambasted the Brewers when they hired Phil Garner over Baylor last year, saying Garner had no managerial experience. That no-experience whine also isn’t being heard in Cincinnati with the hiring of Tony Perez.

Whatever their credentials, Perez and Baylor are good ones. Perez is a good selection for the Reds because of his upbeat personality and quiet strength. Baylor and Perez will have instant credibility in their clubhouses.

Texas’ hiring of Kevin Kennedy is another example of a positive trend of hiring managers and recognizing someone who has been a successful minor league manager and has worked his way up the ladder. Tommy Lasorda, La Russa, Jim Leyland and Buck Showalter have rewarded teams for promoting them. The same could be true for Lachemann, Baylor, Perez and Kennedy.

Lachemann is not a first-time major league manager, but Baylor, Perez and Kennedy are. Though the odds seem to be against these rookies, you would be surprised to find out the odds actually aren’t that bad.

In fact, we’ll bet you didn’t know that of the 116 rookie managers since 1969, nine have won division titles in their first seasons on the job -- Sparky Anderson, Reds, 1970; Bill Virdon, Pirates, 1972; Lasorda, Dodgers, 1977; Jim Frey, Royals, 1980; Jim Fanning, Expos, 1981; Harvey Kuenn, Brewers, 1982; Hal Lanier, Astros, 1986; Joe Morgan, Red Sox, 1988; and Cito Gaston, Blue Jays, 1989.

There’s a lot to be said for giving a newcomer a chance. You are guaranteed an enthusiasm from a manager who aspires to make his mark in the big leagues and he usually takes over the job more prepared.

Though Davey Johnson was a finalist for the Reds job, Perez was chosen because of his promise to take an aggressive approach, not to mention the knowledge he has gained as a coach for the club the last five seasons.

“The only negative thing we found with Tony is that he’s never managed,” General Manager Jim Bowden says. “We can’t really evaluate him on strategy and running a game. That’s why we made the decision to name Dave Miley bench coach. We feel he can run a ballgame as well as any young manager in the game.”

Miley, 30, has been a manager in the Reds’ minor league system since 1988.

No one has found a foolproof method to select a manager, but the Marlins, Rockies, Rangers and Reds seem to have taken the right steps to find a good one.

If, after all the back-room politicking and legal challenges, the Giants remain in San Francisco under a new local ownership group, headed by Safeway boss Peter McGowan and financier Charles Schwab, look for them to bring in a new general manager and manager to begin a stripped-down rebuilding of the franchise similar to Houston and Cleveland.

The new group is also likely to try new marketing strategies, including the majority of the home schedule being day games, which over the last few seasons have drawn nearly 25 percent more than games at night at Candlestick Park.

Around the bases: A team to watch in the offseason is the Yankees. They acquired Paul O’Neill from the Reds for Roberto Kelly on Tuesday. O’Neill should be very effective in Yankee Stadium. The Yankees are also interested in putting together a package for California Angels lefth-ander Jim Abbott. Also, Barry Bonds, not David Cone, likely will be their major free-agent target in the offseason.