Salary
Average Salary: $825,000
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $3,300,000
If you're lucky enough to work for a big-market franchise with loads of cash, and are able to lead your team to the playoffs consistently (plus you have a great agent who can negotiate a sweet deal), you can earn millions of dollars a year as a baseball manager (source).
Of course, only one team can win the big one each year, and for many coaches it won't be theirs—ever. But every team needs a manager, so as long as you can build a possible contender every few years, you'll be earning a swanky income at the ballpark.
Estimates for the average manager's salary range between high six- and low seven-figures for a season in the majors. We don't know exactly how much because a lot of contracts aren't public knowledge. Superstar ballplayers often like to flash their wealth, but the actual managers are usually a lot more low-key about it.
This isn't a job you can just step into, though. Many major league coaches spent years playing professional ball, and most worked on coaching staffs as pitching or batting coaches before getting the top job of skipper. Many even spent time in the minor leagues, where a manager is lucky to make $60,000 in a season (source).
But who needs money when you get to dress up in a baseball uniform, eat sunflower seeds, and tell overpaid professional athletes what to do every day?