Joe Maddon becoming the Angels' next manager was almost as certain as Astros right-hander Gerrit Cole striking out 10-plus batters in an appearance. In other words, it was almost a lock.
It's the second time in Maddon's a managerial career that his availability has caused an organization to fire their existing manager with time left on his contract.
The first time was five-plus years ago, when Andrew Friedman, who was the head of baseball operations for the Tampa Bay Rays, left to take over as head of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Maddon and his agent were smart enough to have given themselves a short window to opt out of his Rays deal should Friedman leave. Within about a week's time, the Chicago Cubs had fired Rick Renteria and given Maddon a $25 million deal. Maddon helped the Cubs win their first World Series since 1908.
