Struggling Angels fire Joe Maddon: team / Photo: Tim Nwachukwu - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Struggling Angels fire Joe Maddon: team
The Los Angeles Angels fired manager Joe Maddon on Tuesday in the wake of the team's 12th straight defeat.
The Angels said in a statement on Twitter that Maddon had been "relieved of his duties" and would be replaced by assistant coach Phil Nevin.
The dismissal comes after the Angels were beaten 1-0 at home by the Boston Red Sox on Monday -- the team's 12th consecutive loss.
The Angels' season has nosedived over the past month, with the team falling to 27-29 just weeks after leading the American League West 24-13 on May 15.
The 68-year-old Maddon was in the final year of his contract and his departure ends a long association with the Angels.
Maddon spent 30 years with the organisation between 1975 and 2005, taking on a variety of roles after failing to make it as a major league player.
He later left to take up coaching jobs with the Tampa Bay Rays, and subsequently joined the Chicago Cubs in 2014, helping the team end its 108-year wait for a World Series crown in 2016.
He rejoined the Angels in 2019 with the brief of helping return the team to the playoffs.
However despite an increasingly star-studded roster led by superstar Mike Trout and Japanese two-way threat Shohei Ohtani, the Angels have failed to reach the postseason with Maddon at the helm.
W.Lievens--JdB
