The Los Angeles Angels surprised the baseball world, and their manager, firing Joe Maddon on Tuesday. The move comes as the Angels are mired in a dreadful 12 game losing streak. After the news broke, Maddon spoke with The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal to talk about the situation.
The 68-year-old Maddon was asked if he still wanted to coach. He had a very brief and straight forward answer.
“Of course. Of course I want to manage. I’m really good at it,” Maddon said.
Joe Maddon's resume certainly backs up that sentiment. He has won two World Series titles, one as the Angels bench coach in 2002 and one as the manager of the Chicago Cubs in 2016. However, it's what he accomplished in Tampa Bay as manager from 2006 through 2014 that really built his reputation. Despite consistently having one of the smaller pay rolls in baseball, the Rays were consistently battling in the American League East.
During the conversation with Rosenthal, Joe Maddon acknowledged that he was caught off guard by the firing. He was in the third and final year of his contract with the Angels. Despite being only 56 games into the 2022 season, the Angels brass believed a change was needed.
This year, the Angels had jumped out to a hot start to their 2022 season. They were 27-17 and sitting at the top of the AL West with the rival Houston Astros on their heels. That's when the wheels fell off. The losing streak has dropped the Angels to 27-29 and are now 8.5 games behind the Astros in the American League West.
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