ANAHEIM — An emotional Kurt Suzuki stood at the podium Wednesday afternoon, sitting alongside Angels general manager Perry Minasian as he welcomed Suzuki and introduced him as the new manager of the Los Angeles Angels.
Suzuki sat at in front of his wife and kids, as well as a few of his former College Baseball teammates, during his time at Cal-State Fullerton. As general manager Perry Minasian helped him put on his jersey that dawned the number 8 in the bottom left corner, it officially meant that the “Kurt Suzuki era” is officialy underway with the Angels.
“Being with the right person at the helm, with Perry. What he means to obviously myself and my family. I feel like that was something that excited me,” Suzuki said. “I went to Cal State Fullerton, won a National Championship there, and was in college when the Angels last won the World Series in 2002. That was my freshman year, and how amazing the city, the support, the fans. It just excited me.”
While excitement is in the air, for Suzuki and Minasian, the time to get to work is now as this could be a make-or-break year for him and Minasian.
Despite the news coming out on Tuesday that Suzuki will be managing the Angels, he is on a one year deal while Minasian is in the final year of his contract after the Angels elected to opt into the second year of his two-year contract extension he signed during the 2024 season.
“He’s tied in with me,” Minasian said.
Suzuki played 16 seasons in the MLB and played with the Angels during the final two years of his career in 2021-2022. Following the 2022 season, he announced that he was retiring from baseball. In March of 2023, he moved into the Angels front office as a special assistant to Minasian.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been this excited to give somebody an opportunity like this,” Minasian said. “The individual on my right is one of the best human beings you’ll ever meet in baseball and outside baseball. To me, that’s really important in a leadership role. It’s an exciting day.”
Aliyah Navarro – The Sporting Tribune
Kurt Suzuki addresses the media as he’s introduced as Angels Manager alongside Angels GM Perry Minasian.
During the interview process for manager, Minasian said it was a grueling process as he said they talked to a lot of people and had a lot of candidates that were interested in leading the 2026 Angels.
Minasian thanked Angels owner Arte Moreno and his wife Carole for allowing him to hire Suzuki as the man who will lead the team next season. He also went on to thank team president John Carpino for helping him narrow down the selections to Suzuki.
One of the points that he added with Suzuki was that it was important for him to separate the relationship that the two have built over the years. Minasian said he called some of Suzuki’s former teammates to collect their thoughts about who should manage the team going forward.
“One of our veteran players that I really, really respect, who’s seen a lot, been through a lot, asked his particular opinion of a manager in general, and Kurt’s name popped up,” Minasian said. “He said, ‘It’s the best baseball brain in the building and there’s not even a close second,’ And that meant a lot.”
Suzuki has witnessed the glory days of the Angels when Vladimir Guerrero was winning the 2004 American League MVP, Bartolo Colon was named a CY Young winner in 2005, and competed against them as a member of the Oakland A’s from 2007-2013 when the Angels were reguarly reaching the postseason and winning the American League West.
He’s also been a part of some of the not-so-glorious days as a player when the team finished 77-85 in 2021 and 73-89 in 2022.
For most, the task of bringing back winning baseball to a team and city that’s more than deprived of it as a first time manager can be daunting. But for Suzuki, he just might be the man ready for the challenge.
Suzuki grew up in Maui, where baseball scouts weren’t necessarily traveling out to see players that often. He was a walk on at Cal State Fullerton but he went on to win a College Baseball World Series in 2004. In 2019, he was part of a Washington Nationals team that started the season 19-31, that then ended up finishing with a 93-69 record and ended up winning the World Series as a wild card team.
“What a worldwind, growing up, being raised in Maui, Hawaii. Walking on at Cal State (Fullerton), what a special story. I tell my kids all the time, ‘You guys are creating a story for yourself to tell when your kids have kids,” Suzuki said. “I had to prove myself at every single level. Nothing was ever handed to me.”
“My parents raised me to earn everything that you get and to go for everything that you get. Have dreams, have goals. Like I said. I’d be crazy if I was sitting here today telling you, this is where I would be when I left high school going to college.”
Aliyah Navarro – The Sporting Tribune
Kurt Suzuki with his family at his introductory press conference as the Los Angeles Angels Manager.