Former New York Mets manager, Mickey Callaway has found a new job. According to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY, Callaway is heading to the Los Angeles Angels to serve as pitching coach.
Former #Mets manager Mickey Callaway is close to joining Joe Maddon as the #Angels pitching coach but deal not finalized yet. The #Mets still owe him $1.05 million in 2020
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 26, 2019
The deal is likely to be finalized within the next 24 hours. He joins Joe Maddon, who was recently hired to be the team’s manager following a five-year stint with as manager of the Chicago Cubs.
Callaway was let go by the Mets with one year left on his contract. In two years as manager, he led the Mets to increased win totals in both years, including 86 wins in 2019.
Qualifications
Prior to managing the Mets, Callaway spent five seasons as the pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians, from 2013-2017. In that span, the Indians boasted one of the best ERAs in all of MLB.
Their 3.65 ERA while Callaway was pitching coach was fourth in MLB, and they only trailed the Los Angeles Dodgers (3.44), Washington Nationals (3.53), and St. Louis Cardinals (3.59). Additionally, those staffs featured Corey Kluber, who won two Cy Young awards while Callaway was his coach.
In 2012, the Indians team ERA was 4.78, but that dropped nearly one-full run to 3.82 after Callaway took over in 2013.
Callaway also pitched for the Angels in 2002-2003 while Maddon was a coach.
Task Ahead
The Angels are looking for Mickey Callaway to have the same impact on their pitching staff as he did with the Indians. Their staff is currently filled with question marks following the death of Tyler Skaggs and Shohei Ohtani coming off of Tommy John surgery.
The Angels have not made the playoffs since 2014, and they are coming off of 90-loss season in 2019. Their pitching has been a big part of the problem. They were 25th in MLB with a 5.12 ERA in 2019. On top of that, they were 28th in MLB in quality starts.
Callaway has a big task ahead of him to turn this pitching staff around. Given his credentials, he looks to be a good hire for a team in desperate need of a change.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
