The Los Angeles Angels fired manager Joe Maddon on Tuesday amid the team’s 12-game losing streak.
Third base coach Phil Nevin was named the interim manager ahead of Tuesday night’s game against the visiting Boston Red Sox.
Maddon, 68, guided the club to a 27-29 record this season and a 130-148 record since beginning his latest stint as the Angels’ skipper in 2020.
The Angels matched their longest-ever single-season skid with Monday night’s 1-0 loss to Boston. The Angels also lost the last 12 games to finish the 1988 season.
In an interview with The Athletic after his firing, Maddon said he was surprised because he felt his players were with him “100 percent.”
“The players, we’ve got some guys hurt. But the guys who are there, they’re wonderful to work with,” Maddon told The Athletic. “They’re spectacular. It was a great clubhouse. It is a great clubhouse. There was no dissension, no finger-pointing, none of it.”
He added that he knew Angels general manager Perry Minasian was “in a tough spot” and felt they’d had a good working relationship, but he nodded to some internal disagreement over the extent to which the club should consider and utilize advanced analytics.
“I’m into analytics, but not to the point where everybody wants to shove it down your throat,” Maddon said. “Real baseball people have felt somewhat impacted by all of this. You’re unable to just go to the ballpark and have some fun and play baseball. It’s too much controlled by front offices these days.
“I actually talked to Perry about this. This isn’t anything new. I told him that. I said you just try to reduce the information you’re giving, try to be aware of who’s giving the information and really be aware of when it’s time to stay out of the way.”
The Angels entered Tuesday in second place in the American League West, 8 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros.
Maddon, who led the Chicago Cubs to a World Series championship in 2016, owns a record of 1,382-1,216-1 over 19 seasons with the Angels (1996, 1999, 2020-22), Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays (2006-14) and Cubs (2015-19).
Maddon is a three-time Manager of the Year, twice in the American League (2008, 2011) and once in the National League (2015).
Nevin, 51, is in his first season with the Angels. He previously worked as an assistant coach with the San Francisco Giants (2017) and New York Yankees (2018-21).
In Nevin’s playing days, he starred at Cal State Fullerton and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1992 draft by the Houston Astros. He played for seven different major league clubs, including 75 games for the Angels in 1998, and ranks third all-time in San Diego Padres history with 156 home runs.
–Field Level Media
