When it comes to rooting for the Los Angeles Angels, one thing you can always count on is low-hanging humor.
That was definitely true as the Angels announced what will presumably be their final hires to round out the coaching staff of new manager Kurt Suzuki. The three coaches announced were Darryl Scott (assistant pitching coach), Dom Chita (bullpen coach) and Derek Florko (third hitting coach).
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These coaches are just names to most fans, of course, until you go through their credentials. Turns out that Scott comes over after spending six seasons with the Colorado Rockies, while Chitl was the Colorado’s minor league pitching coordinator and Florko served as minor league performance coach, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.
Cue the rimshots, right?
On a more serious note, it’s Suzuki’s staff, and he mostly has the leeway to hire whoever he wants, especially since he’s a rookie manager working on a one-year deal with incentives. GM Perry Minasian put his stamp of approval on the new hires, which wasn’t exactly surprising.
“I think Kurt did a great job,” Minasian said as the winter meetings opened in Orlando. “I’m excited about the staff. You know, obviously the hitting coach and pitching coach had huge input on who the assistants were. We basically put it in their hands. So I know Brady talked to a ton of people. Mike talked to a ton of people, and that’s who they decided to go with. And obviously Kurt’s got to stamp it.”
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Suzuki was his usual enthusiastic self when he discussed the hires, and he conveniently ignored the elephant in the room that the Rockies angle represents.
“I’m very excited,” Suzuki said. “Obviously, we tried to check every box with personalities, relationships with players, relating to players on their level. And for me being a first-time manager, surrounding myself with good baseball people that are loyal, that are hard-working, that are committed to getting the players better.”
In a move that was somewhat less exciting, Minasian also talked about the retention of interim manager Ray Montgomery, who was nominally responsible for the incredibly bad brand of baseball fans had to endure in August and September after manager Ron Washington was forced to leave the team due to health issues.
“He’s gonna do everything,” Minasian said in a statement that made Angels fans cringe. “He’s a huge asset, and he’s worn a lot of different hats, and is somebody that’s respected across the game and will definitely help us from a front-office perspective. For him to have worked in the roles he’s worked in, and to have the experiences he has, will only enhance what he brings to the room.”