Angels hire Eppler as GM

[Travis Painter]

@Ken_Rosenthal: Source confirms: The #Angels have hired #Yankees assistant general manager Billy Eppler as their new GM. First reported: @BillShaikin.

@Joelsherman1: Can confirm @BillShaikin #Angels are naming #Yankees asst GM Billy Eppler their GM

[Stradling]

Well that was quick.

[Troll Daddy]

I like it ... suck it Mariners

Edited October 5, 2015 by Troll Daddy

[ABC]

As a young executive, Eppler understands he'll get labeled as a numbers whiz. But there's more to him. "Unfortunately in this game, if you're (young) and you didn't play in the big leagues, it's kind of easy to get classified," Eppler said, according to the report. "And it's fine, I understand, but it's not something I'm real versed in."

 

http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2015/09/billy_eppler_to_angels_what_you_should_know_about.html

[aznhockeyguy]

So they got a younger version of Dipoto?

[seenoevil]

Sosh pulling the strings literally,

[beatlesrule]

Where are the quotation marks?

[AngelsLakersFan]

hahaha.

 

He gets labeled a "numbers wiz" because he's young and didn't play baseball, but he's "not real versed in" it. 

 

Worst of both worlds? Lovely.

[AngelsLakersFan]

So they got a younger version of Dipoto?

 

Sounds like the opposite actually.

[ABC]

Eppler has been tabbed by some as the front-runner for the Angels job, and he comes with a strong endorsement from longtime Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who last year told the New York Daily News: “He checks all the boxes. He’s got the analytics side checked off, he’s got the administrative side checked off, and he’s got the scouting side checked off. He’s got the leadership side checked off because he’s a great communicator.

 

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-yankees-billy-eppler-angels-gm-candidate-20150904-story.html

[seenoevil]

Jerry is irreplaceable but I will open my mind and see what this guy can do, I hope he can succeed and fill the big shoes of Jerry. Stonehead was a joke, he made some horrible decisions @ the FA deadline, which made the team worse that it was before the trades

[Glen]

But can he bring Scioscia lasagna?

Please, somebody shoot me.

[Brandon]

So they got a younger version of Dipoto?

 

How do you get this from the post above you?

 

It's the complete opposite.

 

On a side note, I hope he's ready to hit the ground running. This team needs quite a bit of work done.

[DMVol]

I guess they really were waiting on the elimination of the possibility that we could play the Yanks in the playoffs.....

[Stradling]

Yep, Scioscia is staying unless he is fired. Scioscia complained mostly about the lack of communication in the organization, and now they are hiring someone who's biggest strength is communicating.

[cez]

so he went from assistant GM to assistant GM

[ABC]

hahaha.

 

He gets labeled a "numbers wiz" because he's young and didn't play baseball, but he's "not real versed in" it. 

 

Worst of both worlds? Lovely.

 

That was weirdly worded. Many sources say he's a stats guy. I have no clue and no idea what can be directly attributed to him.

[Guest]

“Is Billy [Eppler] a stats guy? No, and I joke with him about it,” said Bill Schmidt, the Colorado Rockies’ vice president for scouting. “But does he use it as a tool? We all do. 

Billy is a well-rounded scout, and any well-rounded scout is going to look at stats.”

Edited October 5, 2015 by failos

[seenoevil]

Billy hired, Sosh fired?

[tomsred]

Yep, Scioscia is staying unless he is fired. Scioscia complained mostly about the lack of communication in the organization, and now they are hiring someone who's biggest strength is communicating.

 

You nailed it Strad.  I think they will work well together.  I think they hired the best of the rumored candidates, but I wouldn't have minded Klentak either, but he's probably not nearly as experienced as Eppler.

[21stAmendment]

Congrats on the hire, Yankee fan here. Not sure what his job was with the Yankees.

Edited October 5, 2015 by 21stAmendment

[seenoevil]

 

Eppler is a native of San Diego, California, and graduated from University of San Diego High School in 1993.^[1][2] He attended the University of Connecticut and pitched for the Connecticut Huskies baseball team, until an arm injury ended his playing career.^[3] He graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in finance in 1998.^[4]

After graduating from Connecticut, Eppler interned with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League.^[4] The Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball hired Eppler as a scout in 2000.^[3] After the 2004 season, he was hired to scout for the New York Yankees, working in the Tampa office run by Mark Newman and Damon Oppenheimer. When Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman was given the authority to restructure the Yankees' front office after the 2005 season, he created a professional scouting department and promoted Eppler to serve as its director.^[3][5] He was promoted to Assistant General Manager during the 2011–12 offseason.^[6]

Eppler is well versed in the statistics of baseball, using them to sign Edwar Ramírez out of independent baseball.^[7] He is considered by many, including Cashman and Gene Michael to be a future general manager.^[3] In 2011, Eppler interviewed for the general manager opening for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He was one of the finalists for the position, which went to Jerry Dipoto.^[8] In August 2014, he interviewed to be the general manager for the San Diego Padres,^[1] but the Padres hired A. J. Preller.^[9] When the Arizona Diamondbacks fired Kevin Towers as their general manager in September 2014, Eppler was one of the five candidates they identified as a potential replacement.^[10] Eppler declined to interview for the position,^[11] and the Diamondbacks chose Dave Stewart.^[12]

[tomsred]

aznhockeyguy, on 04 Oct 2015 - 5:26 PM, said:

So they got a younger version of Dipoto?

 

Sounds like the opposite actually.

 

 

I think that's exactly right, the emphasis is on communication here.

[ABC]

Dipoto beat out Eppler for the Mariner's GM gig.

[Brandon]

How gnarly would it be if his first move is to fire Sosh?