Angels' manager Mike Scioscia to step down after the 2018 season, per report
By Eric Cole@leprekhan Aug 4, 2018, 11:48pm EDT
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The Angels have a lot of things going for them. Mike Trout is the best player in baseball and is likely going to remain in that conversation for a long, long time. Shohei Ohtani's MLB debut has been a dazzling one even with his elbow keeping him from taking the mound as much as we would have liked. And, most importantly, they are still in a good market to draw fans and eyeballs even though they have to share the limelight with the Dodgers.
However, things the last few years have been kind of tough. The Angels have posted back to back losing seasons and they cannot seem to find any luck or consistency on the pitching side. Trout is legitimately great, but with the Astros young and extremely good, chasing division titles has been tough sledding the last few years and this year isn't looking any better with the team sitting at 55-56/
It appears that manager Mike Scioscia has decided that this is the right time to ride off into the sunset.
#Angels manager Mike Scioscia expected to step down at the end of the season, sources tell The Athletic. Story: https://t.co/OeF1zOZiAG $
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 5, 2018
Scioscia is a bit of a polarizing figure at this point because while he has had considerable success in his tenure as a manager with a 1625-1402 record as a manager and six division titles and a World Series ring from 2002, he has also found himself more and more marginalized as other managers and organizations have begun embracing analytics more enthusiastically.
While we don't know yet his full reasoning, it is entirely possible that he is just ready to retire. He is approaching 60 years old and this is his 19th year as a manager and has had an even lengthier career in the game of baseball as a whole. Regardless of the reasoning and the timing, the Angels will have to begin the search for someone to take the helm quite soon.