OC Register: Angels pick Brad Ausmus to take over as next manager

[AngelsWin.com]

The Angels have hired Brad Ausmus as their first new manager in 19 years, replacing franchise icon Mike Scioscia, the club announced on Sunday.

The 17th manager in Angels history, Ausmus will be introduced in a press conference on Monday at Angel Stadium.

Scioscia, whose 10-year contract concluded this year, announced he would not return following the end of the regular season.

“Over the past few weeks, our baseball operations personnel sat down with numerous highly-qualified and impressive candidates for our managerial role. We are thankful to all of them for their time and effort throughout the process,” general manager Billy Eppler said in a statement released by the team. “Ultimately, Brad’s balance of connectivity, communication and leadership skills as well as his understanding of evolving strategies and probabilistic approach to decision making led us to him. We believe his knowledge, drive and growth-mindset will allow him to integrate seamlessly with our players and staff and will be pivotal in advancing our culture and moving us toward our goals as an organization.”

Ausmus, 49, returns for his second stint as a big league manager, after leading the Detroit Tigers from 2014 to 2017.

Ausmus was 314-322 with the Tigers, including a division title in his first season. The Tigers were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the division series, coincidentally at the time same time the Angels were being swept by the Kansas City Royals in their previous playoff appearance.

A Dartmouth product, Ausmus said when he was hired to manage the Tigers that he had embraced the analytical side of the game.

“I always enjoyed the cerebral part,” Ausmus said upon being hired. “It was much more difficult to hit — that was the part of the game I didn’t really enjoy.”

As a player, Ausmus spent 18 years as a big league catcher, starting with the Padres. He spent 10 years with the Houston Astros, in two different stints. He also played for the Tigers, and he finished with the Dodgers in 2010.

His first managing assignment came as the skipper of Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic qualifying round in 2012. They did not qualify for the tournament in 2013. Otherwise, he had been a special assistant in the Padres front office before taking the Tigers’ job.

The Tigers announced just before the end of the 2017 season that he wouldn’t be back. He finished out the season anyway.

The Angels then hired him as a special assistant to Eppler. Ausmus was in uniform throughout spring training, and he was the team frequently during the year, even on the road.

More to come on this story.

View the full article