Angels’ Dipoto resigns as G.M.
Had rocky relationship with manager Scioscia
ANAHEIM — The tumultuous 3½-year reign of Los Angeles Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto came to an abrupt end Wednesday when he resigned in the wake of renewed friction with manager Mike Scioscia.
Dipoto confirmed his resignation to the Los Angeles Times.
Bill Stoneman, who stepped down as Angels G.M. after the 2007 season but has been retained as a senior adviser ever since, will be named interim general manager, the team announced.
Both assistant general managers Matt Klentak and Scott Servais are expected to remain in their current positions and report to Stoneman, with Klentak considered a candidate for the permanent job after the season.
“It’s sad to see, especially this time of the year,” said reliever Joe Smith. “From a player’s standpoint, our jobs stay the same. We have to get outs on the field, continue to battle and try to win ballgames.”
Dipoto and Scioscia have had a rocky relationship for years, stemming from Scioscia’s resistance to data prepared by Dipoto and his staff and the G.M.’s firing of longtime hitting coach Mickey Hatcher, one of Scioscia’s best friends, in 2012.
The two seemed to iron out their differences in 2014, when the Angels posted a major leaguebest record of 98-64. But Dipoto reached a breaking point on Tuesday when he reportedly cleaned out his office and left Angel Stadium one day after details of a tense clubhouse meeting before Sunday’s game were leaked to Fox Sports. In that meeting, Dipoto reportedly expressed frustration with the failure of Scioscia and his coaches to convey scouting and statistical information provided by the front office to the players.
One coach, according to the report, responded heatedly to Dipoto, and slugger Albert Pujols reportedly challenged Dipoto in the meeting, saying the coaches “are working as hard to prepare players as they did last season, but the roster is not nearly as strong.” Pujols denied making that comment.
Pitcher Hector Santiago seemed stunned by the news that the meeting might have had something to do with Dipoto stepping down.
“We had our meeting, and it wasn’t anything intense,” Santiago said. “I definitely didn’t see this coming. I didn’t see anything in that meeting that would lead to this.”
Scioscia has always wielded more power than most managers because of his long tenure (he’s in his 16th year with the Angels), his success on the field and his strong ties to Angels owner Arte Moreno, who provided Scioscia with the security of a 10-year, $50 million contract that runs through 2018.
Dipoto, 47, was hired in the fall of 2011 and completely revamped the front office, putting a much heavier emphasis on statistical data and advanced analytics than Scioscia was accustomed to, and the manager chafed at some of Dipoto’s personnel moves and ideas.
But when asked before Wednesday night’s game if his issues with Dipoto could be portrayed as newschool analytics versus oldschool thinking, Scioscia said, “No. Seriously, no.”
Scioscia said the use of new data has “made us better. We’ve applied things here on the field, not only through defensive positioning, but also through roles with pitchers and game prep that has made us better. We’ll continue to grow as there are new things that are formatted that make sense to do on the field.”