Manager Joe Maddon won’t be back with Cubs next season
From the moment Joe Maddon joined the Chicago Cubs, taking the reins in a Wrigleyville bar five years ago, he talked about winning.
He was the right manager at the right time for a franchise that had experienced mostly terrible timing for more than a century. Right until his time in Chicago ran out.
The Cubs will have a new manager next season after Maddon and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein announced Sunday it was time for a change after three years of declining results since the franchise’s historic World Series championship in 2016.
The situation was finalized when Maddon and Epstein met in Epstein’s hotel room after Saturday’s 8-6 victory at St. Louis, sharing some wine and reminiscing about their wildly successful partnership.
Maddon’s contract expires after Sunday’s season finale against the Cardinals.
“Change can help you grow,” Epstein said. “And Joe said this change is going to help him grow and I feel it’s going to help the Cubs grow, too.”
The move begins what could be an active offseason for the Cubs, and the 65-year-old Maddon once again becomes one of baseball’s top free agents.
“I want to continue to do this, whatever’s next out there, I want to be able to be on top of that too,” said Maddon, who has used everything from petting zoos to Tshirts with slogans like “Embrace The Target” and “Do Simple Better” to help his teams over the years.
“All of it’s been positive, man, and it’s been interesting, entertaining and quite frankly for this time of year, feeling pretty good, feeling pretty eager about everything, so it’s been a good year.”
While Maddon is out after five seasons, he is tied to Chicago forever after managing the Cubs to the 2016 championship for the franchise’s first title in 108 years.
VERLANDER REACHES 3,000 KS >> Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander became the 18th major league pitcher to reach 3,000 career strikeouts Saturday.
The 36-year-old right-hander entered Saturday night’s game against the Los Angeles Angels with 2,994 strikeouts. He achieved the milestone in the fourth inning when he got Kole Calhoun swinging at a slider. Calhoun reached first, though, on a wild pitch and Andrelton Simmons then gave Los Angeles a 3-0 lead with a two-run homer to left-center.
Verlander’s feat was recognized on the scoreboard at Angels Stadium and he was congratulated by teammates in the Astros dugout at the end of the inning.
Now in his 15th big league season, Verlander is the second pitcher to reach it this season. New York Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia accomplished the feat on April 30 against Arizona. Of the 16 retired pitchers with more than 3,000 strikeouts, 14 are in the Hall of Fame. METS’ ALONSO HITS 53RD HR, SETS ROOKIE RECORD >> Mets slugger Pete Alonso hit his 53rd home run of the season Saturday night, breaking the rookie record Yankees star Aaron Judge set in 2017.
Alonso launched a 93 mph fastball on a 1-2 count from Atlanta Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz just to the right of straightaway center field. The solo shot gave New York a 3-0 lead in the third inning.
Alonso has already set franchise records for homers, total bases (347) and extra-base hits (85). He has 120 RBIs and 102 runs, becoming the first Mets rookie to reach triple digits in both categories. The home run was his 11th of September.