Back to the Chicago Cubs Newsfeed

Three reasons Joe Maddon appears destined to join the Los Angeles Angels

After four years of playing and almost forty years of coaching, Joe Maddon is a free agent.

The last time he held that distinction, Maddon was a 21-year-old trying to make it as a catcher in the big leagues. He ultimately joined the Angels — his first and last professional team as a player – in 1975, then played four seasons of A-ball with the Quad Cities Angels, Salinas Angels and Santa Clara Padres before trading in his catcher’s glove for a clipboard. Maddon went from being a scout in the Angel’s farm system, to a manager in the minors, and then to a coach on the Angels’ staff from 1994-2005, including three stints as an interim manager.