The Mike Scioscia Era Has Ended, What About The Mike Trout Era….?
The end of an Era!
Arguably the greatest in Angel history.
Between 2000 and 2018 the achievements were remarkable.
And it all starts at the top.
…Michael Lorri Scioscia!
Incredible Accomplishment
During his 19 seasons at the helm, Scioscia piloted the Angels to 1650 wins. Only Walter Alston, who managed the Dodgers for 23 summers, won more games (2040) with one team.
Tommy Lasorda (1599), Earl Weaver (1480) and Danny Murtaugh (1115) round out the Top Five in the Modern Era.
During his first ten years, Scioscia guided the Angels to five divisional titles (he won his sixth in 2014).
In 2002 the Angels hoisted their only World Series trophy.
Scioscia is credited with stabilizing the franchise by creating a winning culture.
Accolades Galore
“We went from thinking we could win to knowing we could win,” said Garret Anderson.
Remarked Tim Salmon: “Mike Scioscia impacted my career is ways I’m forever grateful for. He brought leadership, vision, and a winning style of play to the teams I was a part of. ”
“Mike Scioscia is a true Angel. Mike has dedicated his heart and soul for the last 20 years to making the Angels a first class organization. Over this time, he has become one of the best and most respected managers in the game today,” offered David Eckstein.
Said Torii Hunter: “Sosh is someone that I would want to study under if I was to become a manager one day. I watched him think outside the box on so many different occasions in the clubhouse and on the field.”
“Mike was essential in my success and longevity as a MLB player,” admitted Adam Kennedy.
Monster Roller Coaster
That 3,078th game on his final day in uniform was a mixed bag.
Plenty of joy and excitement!
On the diamond, Taylor Ward’s two run, walk off home run brought 36,892 frenzied fans to their feet.
Ward’s blast culminated a three run, ninth inning rally and treated the faithful to a gut wrenching 5-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
But the jubilation was short lived.
Moments later sorrow and tears took center stage.
Last Hurrah!
In an emotionally charged press conference in his office, Scoiscia announced his 19 year career at the helm of the Angels was over.
“I am going to step down,” Scioscia began, “I will not be returning to manage the Angels next year.”
There is conjecture concerning his decision.
True, the 10-year contract he signed on January 12, 2009 expired on this, the final day of the 2018 season.
Yet Scioscia has made it abundantly clear that he still wants to manage.
He is however, perceived as “old school”.
Vote Of Confidence
He does not identify with the younger, analytically inclined generation.
Three summers ago, when Scioscia, butted heads with Jerry DiPoto over the implementation of statistical information sent from above, owner Arte Moreno backed his skipper.
DiPoto subsequently left town.
The deposed general manager landed in Seattle.
On October 23, 2015 Dipoto hired Scott Servais, 48, architect of the Angels analytic department, to be the Mariners manager.
Not so surprising, the combination has turned the Mariners around.
Servais’ three year record is a respectable 253-233. The Mariners challenged for much of this past season, ending with a record of 89-73.
Meanwile the Angels slumped to 234-252.
Philosophical Change
So expect Angel GM Billy Eppler to similarly hire a young, analytically friendly candidate.
Internally, special assistants Brad Ausmus and Eric Chavez, third base coach Dino Ebel and bench coach Josh Paul are expected to be interviewed.
Despite his shortcomings, the Angels could hardly afford to push Scioscia out the door.
To fire their much respected field leader would have been a public relations nightmare.
It’s my guess that the Angel hierarchy gave the Upper Darby, Pennsylvania native the “opportunity” to resign.
As for Moreno, it’s, “what have you done for me lately?”
Need To Challenge!
After all, the Angels recent history has been rather gloomy.
They concluded the 2018 season with 80 wins and 82 losses.
That resulted in a fourth place finish in the American League West, 23 games behind the defending World Champion Houston Astros.
That, on the heels of an identical record the season before. True they finished second, but still were a staggering 21 games behind Houston.
In 2016, the record was 74-88. Another fourth place finish, another 21 games in the rears of the division winning Texas Rangers.
In fairness to their manager, who turns 60 on November 27, the Angels must’ve placed more players on the disable list than any team in baseball. If they weren’t on top of that dubious list, they were close.
Most of the injuries were suffered by the pitching staff.
Garrett Richards, JC Ramirez, Matt Shoemaker, Shohei Ohtani, Nick Tropeano, Parker Bridwell, Alex Meyer, Blake Wood, Keynyan Middleton and Cam Bedrosian were among the walking wounded.
There were some bright spots however.
3 Healthy Pitchers = 80 Starts
Andrew Heaney made 30 solid starts. He whiffed 180 batters in 180 innings (45 walks), compiled a 9-10 record with a 4.15 earned run average.
Tyler Skaggs started 24 games. His numbers: 129 strikeouts (40 walks) in 125 1/3 innings, an 8-10 record and 4.02 ERA.
Biggest surprise was Jaime Barria, who may have pitched himself into the 2019 starting rotation. His resume: 26 starts. A 10-9 record and 3.41 ERA in 129 1/3 innings.
But what do you do with Richards?
Once heralded as a dominate top of the rotation starter, the 30-year old Richards has made just 28 starts the last three years combined. His record is 6-9.
And he’s a free agent!
I don’t think the Angels resign him.
But if it were me, I’d sign Richards to the major league minimum contract jam packed with incentives.
We’ll see.
Position players, including Zack Cozart (57 games), Albert Pujols (45), Kole Calhoun (25), Mike Trout (22), Justin Upton (17) and Andrelton Simmons (16) also missed significant games.
Scioscia nonetheless was expected to compete.
Likewise for his successor.
Ultimatum: Win Or Adios?
Trout’s contract has two more years.
This was his seventh full season.
During that span, the Angels have qualified for the playoffs ONCE!
They had the best record (98-64) in baseball in 2014. And they were unceremoniously swept out in the divisional series by the Wild Card Kansas City Royals.
“You want to be in an atmosphere where (the organization) wants to win,
“I want to come to the ballpark playing for something. That’s everybody’s goal here as a player. You don’t want to come playing for nothing,” Trout said.
Back in Tempe, Arizona last spring Trout thought that come October, the Angels would be playing for something.
“I was really excited coming into this season with all the guys we brought in.
“The name of the game is staying healthy. You lose all those guys; you’re going to be in trouble,” Trout admitted.
Overall, Trout sounds pleased with the progress that’s being made.
“My years here haven’t been winning, but they’ve been taking care of me.
“I enjoy coming to the ballpark. It (stinks) when it’s September and you’re out of it.
“But when I was a kid they took a chance on me. We’ll see how it goes. I’ve got a couple more years, and we’ll go from there,” Trout surmised.
The end of an Era?
The Orange County Register & AngelsWin.com Contributed To This Article
Image: mlb.com
John Stellman
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