Mark Feisand of MLB.com reports Joe Maddon will be meeting with the Los Angeles Angels to discuss the team’s managerial opening. As many have reported, Maddon seems to set to begin his second stint as the Angels manager, but first the team is going to interview other candidates for the position.
What we do not know at the moment if the Angels hiring other candidates is the team doing their due diligence, or if it is the team attempting to comply with the Selig Rule which requires teams to interview minority candidates for managerial positions. On that front, there are a number of minority managerial candidates who are under consideration for other teams openings including Moises Alou, Carlos Beltran, and Joe Espada.
It should be noted that the Selig Rule does not actually require an interview. Rather, there only needs to be proof minority candidates were actually considered. In the Angels circumstance, it may be difficult to prove they actually considered anyone outside of actually interviewing a candidate.
Maddon, 65, has twice served as the interim manager for the Angels. In 1996, he replaced the fired Marcel Lacheman and J0hn McNamara. In 1999, he replaced the fired Terry Collins. In those combined stints, the Angels were 27-24 under his stewardship.
Maddon was hired by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2006, and he has been a manager for over the past 14 years for the Rays and Chicago Cubs. Over that time frame, his teams have won two pennants, and he would be the manager who guided the Cubs to their first World Series title in 108 years.
Overall, Maddon is 1252-1068 (.540) as a manager. In addition to the aforementioned World Series appearances, his teams have won four division titles and have been to the postseason eight times. His teams have had a losing record just three times over the past 14 years, and he has not had consecutive losing seasons since his first two years managing with the Rays.
With Maddon expected to be hired by the Angels in the not too distant future, that is one fewer candidate left for the Mets to consider. On that front, the Mets have not yet begun interviewing candidates. With suspected candidates like Buck Showalter and Joe Girardi indicating their interest, and former Mets players like Beltran and John Franco hinting at their potential interest, it should be interesting to see who may actually be interviewed and eventually hired for the Mets job.
