After the Los Angeles Angels had a disappointing 2025 MLB season with a 72-90 record and finished last in the American League West Division, everything looked like a restructuring in which a new heavyweight manager would take over the team following the departure of Ray Mongomery, who took over due to the health problems of Ron Washington.
But instead, the organization decided on an internal solution with Kurt Suzuki, a former catcher with 16 years of Major League experience and a 2019 World Series champion with the Washington Nationals. In his last three years he had the role of special assistant to general manager Perry Minasian and his choice surprised many, all this derived from his complete lack of experience as a manager at a professional level.
How did fans react to the announcement of Kurt Suzuki as the Angels’ new manager?
The response from the fans was not long in coming, but for the most part it was negative. On social media, several fans of the team expressed their dissatisfaction with Suzuki’s appointment with messages such as: “This seems very cheap to me”, “Oh, joy, another losing season, here we go” or some more rude asking for the sale of the team: “Sell the team, Arte. The worst owner in sports”.
The annoyance is not only focused on Kurt Suzuki’s lack of experience, the anger comes because fans interpret that it is a new low-cost bet by the Angels management. The organization has already had three years of constant managerial changes with five substitutions since 2019 and in none of the changes have they been able to qualify for the postseason so fans have lost patience and ask that there be no more risky bets.
Kurt Suzuki: Who is the new Los Angeles Angels manager?
Kurt Suzuki is 42 years old and retired in 2022 after a long career that included stints with Oakland, Washington, Minnesota, Atlanta and finally the Angels. During his time in the majors, he was recognized as a leader in the clubhouse, was an All-Star in 2014 and finished his career with 143 home runs and more than 700 RBIs, with his last official game on October 1, 2022 against the Oakland Athletics, the team with which he made his debut.
Since his retirement, he has remained close to the organization as an advisor and has worked in various areas such as spring training and minor leagues. This led him to build good relationships with the team’s manager and according to Jeff Fletcher, a reporter who covers the Angels, Suzuki “knows the internal system well and has the confidence of the locker room”.
Kurt Suzuki’s choice as Angels manager is a high-risk move, especially when looking at the team’s past and the constant changes it has made since 2019, but knowing the environment it may be the start of a new era of renewal and if he fails he will be added to the list of bad decisions by the organization.
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