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Saturday afternoon, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Angels were close to hiring Mickey Callaway 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
Jeff Fletcher of the OCR later confirmed this report.
Can confirm the #Angels will be hiring Mickey Callaway as their pitching coach. @BNightengale first that a deal was close.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) October 26, 2019
Callaway, 44, was an Angel pitcher in 2002, and he made a number of starts for the club down the stretch, earning a ring. He comes with a sterling resume, having helped Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger, and other Cleveland Indians pitchers reach their potential during a five-year stint as pitching coach.
He then went on to manage the New York Mets, missing the playoffs in both 2018 and 2019. He was fired. Callaway didn’t seem to be a great manager, and he often spoke out against analytics in baseball.
Interesting quote yesterday from Mickey Callaway when talking about bullpenning and hitting best hitter 2nd or 3rd, "Traditional baseball always rules.
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayerMMO) December 6, 2018
#Mets manager Mickey Callaway: "I bet 85% of our decisions go against the analytics." https://t.co/gMOwjYTFiB pic.twitter.com/Hea6SO1klo
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) August 16, 2019
As a pitching coach, he will not be making the game moves.
Callaway’s track record on the field looks good. It remains to be seen what he can do with the Angels pitching staff, which was abysmal in 2019.