When the LA Angels hired manager Mike Scioscia in the winter of 1999 the organization was in a major transistion as original owner Gene Autry had stepped aside a few years early due to poor health, and the Disney Corporation had bought the team. Attendance was down and the team was floundering at or near the bottom of the AL West. Enter Mike Scioscia.
Mike Scioscia had been taught how to win as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and was a key part of two World Series winning teams in 1981 and 1988. However When his playing career was coming to an end in 1994 he was looking for a path to possibly continue his baseball career as a coach.