Browsing: Thrilled

Nov 10, 2025, 05:09 PM ET

SAN DIEGO — Moments after Craig Stammen was introduced as manager of the San Diego Padres on Monday, general manager A.J. Preller turned to the former reliever and light-heartedly said, “How’d we get here?”

That’s something Padres fans and many people around baseball have wondered since Thursday, when the Padres made the surprising announcement that Stammen replaced Mike Shildt. Citing burnout, Shildt retired on Oct. 13 after just two seasons on the job, less than two weeks after the Padres were eliminated in the wild card round by the Chicago Cubs.

The 41-year-old Stammen, just three seasons removed from throwing his last big league pitch, has been with the Padres organization since 2017. Preller felt he had enough good qualities and knowledge of the team to make him skipper despite having no previous coaching or managing experience at any level.

Stammen went from helping interview candidates for the job to becoming a candidate to getting the job. He’ll lead a team that’s made four playoff appearances in six seasons and is led by stars Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado.

He retired in August 2023 after it became clear he wouldn’t bounce back from a shoulder injury sustained during spring training. He became an assistant to the major league coaching staff and the baseball operations department, and he said Preller often asked if he wanted more responsibilities in the organization while understanding Stammen was balancing his job with his home life with his wife, Audrey, and their four young children back in Ohio.

“He was very coy about it at the beginning,” Stammen said. “We kind of got through the interview process, the beginning of it, and then he put the sales kibosh on me and said, ‘I really want you to be a part of the process; I want you to think about being the manager of the Padres.'”

Stammen wasn’t sure about moving his family to California. He had numerous conversations with his wife and others and cited Preller’s continued belief in him, without which “I probably would have not gone down the path as strongly as we did.

“Eventually it got to the point where it was a yes for us. We made some family decisions to make that happen. Once we made that decision there was a peace and a joy that came with it and an opportunity that there’s no way I could say no to. That’s where we said yes and luckily enough and thankful enough, I was offered the job and here we are today, ready to make something happen.”

Editor’s Picks

2 Related

This is the third time Preller has hired a manager with little or no previous managerial experience. Stammen is the Padres’ sixth manager since 2015, not counting interim skippers.

Preller harkened back to what he’s seen of Stammen since his first season with the Padres in 2017, when he was coming off an arm injury and had joined San Diego as a free agent.

“He’s an elite competitor, incredibly hard worker, very prepared and a natural leader and somebody that as a pitcher was able to touch different elements of our clubhouse and be able to bond and connect with different players in that clubhouse over the course of a seven- or eight-year period here in San Diego.” Preller said.

“Craig has a unique seat, a unique lens. He was part of those building teams and then he’s been able to see it through to the playoff teams and the teams that have won 90-plus games here the last two years. He’s part of some really high highs … Craig starting a playoff game, which is definitely a career highlight, and he also had a front-row seat to some of the disappointments of the last few years, and I think he’s going to carry those experiences with him here in this chair.”

Stammen is best known for starting the deciding Game 3 of the 2020 Wild Card Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, who at the time were managed by Shildt. He pitched 1 2/3 innings as the first of nine pitchers the Padres used in the 4-0 win, which clinched their first postseason series victory since 1998.

Stammen said it will be a “challenge for sure. I’ve got a big learning curve ahead of me.” But he said he has a great relationship with pitching coach Ruben Niebla — was interviewed for the manager’s job — as well as with many of the players who were once his teammates.

“One of the advantages of being a relief pitcher and viewing the game from that lens is you’re always monitoring when the pitching changes are coming,” Stammen said. “Especially in the role I had, I had to be ready from pitch one until the end of the game.”

He said he and Niebla will “be a lethal combo” in making pitching decisions.

Source link

Oct 22, 2025, 07:52 PM ET

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Kurt Suzuki is taking over the Los Angeles Angels as a first-time manager with a monumental task before him — and perhaps a very limited amount of time to show progress.

Suzuki got just a one-year contract when he became the Angels’ sixth manager in the past eight seasons, general manager Perry Minasian said Wednesday.

Minasian also has one year left on his deal with the Angels, who are mired in a stretch of 10 straight losing seasons after finishing 72-90 last month.

“He’s tied in with me,” Minasian said of Suzuki, the longtime catcher who served as Minasian’s special assistant for the past three seasons after his retirement from a 16-year playing career.

Kurt Suzuki, the Angels’ sixth manager in eight seasons, got a one-year contract that mirrors GM Perry Minasian’s. “I feel like I had to prove myself every single year I played this game,” Suzuki said. “… I’m here because I want to lead this team.” William Liang-Imagn Images

Neither man expressed any worries about the brief window given to the 42-year-old Suzuki, who will be learning his vast new job under unusual pressure. Suzuki’s contract appears to be another unique decision by Angels owner Arte Moreno, whose team hasn’t made the playoffs since 2014 or had a winning season since 2015.

Minasian and Suzuki both said they feel urgency to end the Angels’ decade-long drought, no matter how long their contracts might be.

“I make a joke of it, but I feel like I’ve been playing on one-year deals my whole career,” Suzuki said. “I feel like I had to prove myself every single year I played this game. … I’m here because I want to lead this team. I’m here because I want to help these players. I want to do good for this city and this organization.”

Editor’s Picks

1 Related

Suzuki teared up while thanking his wife and three children, who were seated in the front row of his news conference at Angel Stadium, where he played his final two major league seasons before moving into the team’s front office.

Suzuki was chosen by Minasian from a field of candidates that included Albert Pujols. Minasian wouldn’t say how negotiations broke down with the former Angels slugger, who also has never coached or managed in the majors.

At least Pujols has winter-ball experience in a dugout, but Minasian is confident Suzuki will pick up his new job swiftly because he already has done large parts of it as a catcher.

“I never thought I would be comfortable hiring a manager who wasn’t a manager before, but this is a different person,” Minasian said. “I know he didn’t have a coaching title, but even when he played, he coached-slash-managed for different places. He managed a game for a long time. I believe he’s the right person for the job.”

Suzuki is used to achieving great things despite starting from a tough position.

After growing up on Maui, he walked on at Cal State Fullerton and developed into a freshman starter, a College World Series winner and a second-round draft pick by the Oakland Athletics.

He made one All-Star team and won a World Series ring during an accomplished major league career. His lively bat produced 143 homers, but he was even better known for his excellent defense, game management and relationships with his pitchers, including Shohei Ohtani.

“I feel like I was born to do this — to lead players, to help players get better,” Suzuki said. “That’s my personality. I feel like I’ve done it on a yearly basis with 29, 30 pitchers throughout a whole season, trying to understand how to get the best out of each player, and that’s what excites me.

“Obviously you play this game to win also, but what excites me is being able to help kids reach their potential.”

Suzuki replaces Ron Washington, whose option year wasn’t picked up after two losing seasons. Brad Ausmus, Joe Maddon, Phil Nevin and interim Ray Montgomery have also briefly held this slippery job since Mike Scioscia wasn’t brought back in late 2018 after 19 years in charge.

Suzuki skirted questions about Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon, his teammate on the Washington Nationals’ championship team in 2019. Rendon, who didn’t play at all this season due to a hip injury, still has one season left on the catastrophic $245 million, seven-year contract Moreno gave him as a free agent after the World Series.

“I haven’t spoke to Perry about that whole situation,” Suzuki said of Rendon, who will make $38 million from the Angels next year.

Source link

Brandon Holtz said he was planning to take an ice bath Wednesday night.After two rounds of stroke play and five…

Sep 17, 2025, 07:17 PM ETSAN FRANCISCO — Roger Federer threw in a few trick serves and several between-the-legs shots…

There are some people at ESPN not thrilled over Stephanie McMahon‘s recent actions. Earlier this month, WWE signed a five-year…