After 19 years, Angels manager Mike Scioscia expected to take end-of-season exit
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim appear to be preparing to take on life after Mike Scioscia should he step down as manager at the end of the 2018 season.
Mike Scioscia has put together a fairly impressive resume in his 19 years as manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. But after getting shut out by the arsenal of Corey Kluber and the Cleveland Indians, it appears as though Scioscia may be ready to close the book on a storied career in California.
On Aug. 4, Kluber threw what is affectionately called a “Maddux Shutout” in Cleveland. Paying homage to the legendary Braves and Cubs pitcher Greg Maddux, Kluber pitched a complete game shutout on less than 100 pitches. It was a quiet night for the Angels on the field, but the real headlines started after the game concluded.
Various sources on Twitter, including Ken Rosenthal, began noting that Scioscia is now expected to step down as manager after the season concludes. And it will wrap up what has mostly been a lackluster year for the Angels. As of this writing, they are flirting with the bottom of the American League West.
It’s a far cry from when he led them to their only World Series title in franchise history in 2002. He has helped them win six division titles over these 19 years, so he’s had a measure of success along the way. But it seems now may be the time to jump off ship before things get worse. And not making any major splashes at the recent trade deadline probably didn’t sit well with some of the locals.
But the question remains who would take over, if this does in fact take place? Certainly there are plenty of names on the board, including a potential Joe Girardi sighting. But don’t put too much faith in that name, as CBS Sports speculates he may be next man up in St. Louis. Whoever it is will certainly have some decent-sized shoes to fill.
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The 19 years of service put in by Scioscia ranks second only to NBA head coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs in terms of tenure. Popovich took the reigns of the Spurs back in 1996 and is the longest-tenured coach in all United States sports.