Joe Maddon hired as Angels next manager on a 3-year deal

Jon Heyman broke the news first this morning:

And they we got news about what the deal would look like:

And then... the announcement seems imminent:

And then...

Maddon was widely favored for the job and the Angels were said to be his first choice. The Angels also interviewed Padres hitting coach Johnny Washington, John Farrell, and Buck Showalter.

As many know, Maddon spent 30 years in the Angels organization and lives in Long Beach, so this is a bit of a homecoming for him.

One question that remains is that Maddon, who has had a lot of success over his career, probably did not want to come to the Angels just to be with the Angels. Here’s to hoping Billy Eppler let him in on a vision that involves drastically improving this team over the next 1-2 years.

Things are about to get more interesting - and perhaps lively around Anaheim.