Angels fire Maddon amid 12-game losing streak
The Los Angeles Angels fired manager Joe Maddon on Tuesday with the team mired in a 12-game losing streak. Third base coach Phil Nevin will be the interim manager when the Angels (27-29) host Boston on Tuesday night. The 68-year-old Maddon went 130-148 with the Angels, who hired him before the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season for his self-described dream job. Maddon spent three decades of his career as a player and coach for the Angels before going on to an impressive managerial career that has included three Manager of the Year awards. After finishing with losing records in Maddon’s first two seasons, the Angels were off to a strong 27-17 start to this season before their current losing streak began. They are one loss shy of tying the longest skid in franchise history, and the skid has dropped them 8 1/2 games behind Houston for the AL West lead. The Angels were shut out 1-0 in Maddon's final game by the Boston Red Sox and journeyman starter Michael Wacha, who threw a three-hitter against the Halos' star-studded lineup. Owner Arte Moreno's big-budget Angels have finished with six consecutive losing records in the longest active skid in the majors despite a roster headlined by former AL MVPs Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Their seven-year playoff drought is also tied for the third-longest in baseball, and the Angels appeared to be well on their way to making the expanded field this fall before their confounding current skid. Maddon excelled as a manager in Tampa Bay and with the Chicago Cubs, who famously ended their 108-year World Series championship drought during his tenure in 2016. He is 1,382-1,216 in parts of 19 seasons as a manager. Nevin is the Angels' third manager in just over four seasons since Moreno cut ties with Mike Scioscia, who ran the Angels' dugout for 19 years and won their only World Series championship. The Halos dismissed manager Brad Ausmus after just one season in late 2019, and the move appeared to be made because Maddon had just come on the market after parting ways with the Cubs. The 51-year-old Nevin is an Orange County native who played 12 major league seasons for six teams, including the Angels in 1998. He has never been a manager, but he spent four seasons as the New York Yankees' third base coach before joining Maddon's staff this season. Maddon is the second manager to be fired this season. Philadelphia's Joe Girardi was dismissed last week, and the Phillies promptly swept the Angels. (AFP)