Mired in the longest single-season losing streak in franchise history, the Los Angeles Angels made a change at manager Tuesday afternoon. The team announced Joe Maddon has been relieved of his duties, and third base coach Phil Nevin will serve as the interim manager. It's unclear whether a managerial search will begin immediately, or wait until the offseason.
Maddon's firing comes on the heels of Angels' 12th straight loss Monday night, a 1-0 defeat to the Boston Red Sox at home. This is tied for the longest single-season losing streak in franchise history and the second longest losing streak overall, behind a 13-game losing streak spanning the final 12 games in 1988 and the first game in 1989. They were still the California Angels back then.
The Angels are 6-18 since their 21-11 start, and FanGraphs puts their postseason odds at 29.9 percent. They were 81.4 percent as recently as May 15. The Halos are 1 1/2 games behind the sixth and final American League wild card spot, though there are two teams ahead of them in the standings and three teams within 1 1/2 games behind them.
Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe.
Thanks for signing up!
Keep an eye on your inbox.
Sorry!
There was an error processing your subscription.
Hired prior to the 2020 pandemic season, Maddon went 130-148 (.467) in parts of three seasons in what was technically his third stint as Angels manager. He briefly managed the team on an interim basis in 1996 (8-14) and 1999 (19-10). Maddon played in the Angels farm system before beginning his coaching career with the organization in 1980s, and gradually climbing the ladder.
Maddon is the second manager fired this season and the second manager fired in the last week -- the Philadelphia Phillies fired Joe Girardi last Friday. In their first series under interim manager Rob Thomson, the Phillies swept Maddon's Angels this past weekend. Girardi and Maddon are the first managers fired at midseason since the St. Louis Cardinals fired Mike Matheny in July 2018.
The Angels did not make the postseason in their two full seasons under Maddon and the team has made the postseason just once in Mike Trout's 10 full seasons. That was a three-game sweep at the hands of the Kansas City Royals in the 2014 ALDS. The Angels have not won a postseason round (or even a postseason game) since 2009.
Nevin, 51, was in his first season as Angels third base coach after spending the previous four seasons with the New York Yankees in the same role. This is his first MLB managerial job, though he has extensive managerial experience at the Triple-A level, and he has interviewed for several big-league manager positions in recent years.
Maddon, 68, was in the final guaranteed year of his contract, which included a club option for 2023.
