The wisecracking Bridges fashioned a second career as an eminently quotable minor league manager. Always chewing a huge wad of tobacco, he was responsible for such wry gems as “Tommy Lasorda’s curve had as much hang time as a Ray Guy punt” and “There are three things the average man thinks he can do better than anybody else: build a fire, run a hotel, and manage a baseball team.”
Before starting his minor league managing career, Bridges was a versatile utility man. In two rare seasons in which he held down just one position, he led NL second basemen (1953) and AL shortstops (1957) in total chances per game, but he never hit enough to be an everyday player.