Anthony Farris
Videos by OutKick
Despite losing the last 12 games he managed, Joe Maddon doesn’t feel as though he was the problem.
It was analytics I tell ya!
The Angles fired Maddon on Tuesday with Los Angeles sitting two games below .500 and 8.5 out of first place in the American League West standings.
Maddon clearly is of the opinion that his firing wasn’t justified and LA was close to turning things around.
“It’s not to point the finger at just one particular person. We just needed to get the guys back on track, get a couple of wins, get the mojo going again,” Maddon told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. “But we didn’t get that opportunity.”
ANGELS FIRE JOE MADDON AFTER 12 STRAIGHT LOSSES
For those who may have forgotten, the Angeles roster: Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and Noah Syndergaard…
Despite a star-filled roster, it’s clear that Maddon felt handcuffed by the organization’s reliance on analytics.
“It’s been kind of difficult overall. I’m into analytics, but not to the point where everybody wants to shove it down your throat,” Maddon told Rosenthal. “Real baseball people have felt somewhat impacted by all of this. You’re unable to just go to the ballpark and have some fun and play baseball. It’s too much controlled by front offices these days.”
He continued: “In general the industry has gone too far in that direction and that’s part of the reason people aren’t into our game as much as they have been.”
Regardless of his opinion, the numbers don’t lie and Maddon didn’t get it done in LA. In the three seasons, Maddon managed the club, the Angels never posted a winning record. He finished his Los Angles tenure with a 157-172 record.
In his absence, the Angeles didn’t look all that different, falling 6-5 to Boston in their first game without Maddon.
Follow along on Twitter: @OhioAF
I think it’s clear the Angels have organization issues similar to what the Mets have had. They may have resources but don’t seem to understand how to motivate or use them. They apparently don’t have real “baseball people” throughout the organization who understand the game and what it takes to WIN. Analytics help observe situational baseball trends, but it won’t establish a winning mentality throughout an organization. The Angels have seemed perfectly content with safe mediocrity as an organization since their lone title now 20 years ago, reading an analytics script of what to do, and that’s what they’ve gotten as a result. Analytics is just a handy resource, not a philosophy to build a champion. If they can’t win with this team it’s definitely a culture problem.
I have one question for Joe Maddon…….was it analytics or him who decided to walk a guy with the bases loaded? Yeah, yeah, I know the Angels ended up winning that particular game, but it was Corey Seager, not Barry Bonds circa 2002. That’s bad managing. Even if you are worried that any batter will drive in more runs than you are giving them, you are telling your pitcher you don’t trust him enough to get an out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfT2o2HW0V4