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Angels name Brad Ausmus as new manager to replace Mike Scioscia
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Brad Ausmus was named the Los Angeles Angels' manager on Sunday, moving from the front office to the dugout to replace longtime skipper Mike Scioscia.
General manager Billy Eppler announced the hiring of Ausmus, who served as his special assistant last season. Contract terms were not released. Ausmus will be introduced at Angel Stadium on Monday.
While both men had lengthy careers as big league catchers, the 49-year-old Ausmus likely represents a philosophical shift from Scioscia, who was widely perceived as an old-school manager despite his public embrace of new baseball mentalities. After Scioscia's departure three weeks ago, Eppler said he wanted the Angels' new manager to be well-versed in analytics and probability-based decision-making.
Before joining the Angels' front office, Ausmus spent four seasons as the Detroit Tigers' manager from 2014 to '17. The Tigers won 90 games and the AL Central during his first season, but went just 314-332 in his tenure. His contract wasn't renewed after the Tigers went 64-98 in 2017, embarking on a franchise rebuild during the season.
Ausmus played 18 major league seasons with four franchises as a catcher, including 10 years with the Houston Astros before his final two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2009-10. The Dartmouth graduate is 11th in baseball history with 1,766 games started as a catcher, and he is third in baseball history among catchers with 12,839 putouts.
Ausmus takes charge at a key point for the big-budget Angels, who have missed the playoffs in four consecutive seasons and haven't won a postseason game since 2009.
General manager Billy Eppler announced the hiring of Ausmus, who served as his special assistant last season. Contract terms were not released. Ausmus will be introduced at Angel Stadium on Monday.
While both men had lengthy careers as big league catchers, the 49-year-old Ausmus likely represents a philosophical shift from Scioscia, who was widely perceived as an old-school manager despite his public embrace of new baseball mentalities. After Scioscia's departure three weeks ago, Eppler said he wanted the Angels' new manager to be well-versed in analytics and probability-based decision-making.
Before joining the Angels' front office, Ausmus spent four seasons as the Detroit Tigers' manager from 2014 to '17. The Tigers won 90 games and the AL Central during his first season, but went just 314-332 in his tenure. His contract wasn't renewed after the Tigers went 64-98 in 2017, embarking on a franchise rebuild during the season.
Ausmus played 18 major league seasons with four franchises as a catcher, including 10 years with the Houston Astros before his final two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2009-10. The Dartmouth graduate is 11th in baseball history with 1,766 games started as a catcher, and he is third in baseball history among catchers with 12,839 putouts.
Ausmus takes charge at a key point for the big-budget Angels, who have missed the playoffs in four consecutive seasons and haven't won a postseason game since 2009.