Who will listen to the one-year director?
On the 23rd (Korea Standard Time), the Los Angeles Angels appointed Kurt Suzuki, who served as a special assistant for the club, as the new coach.
The names of big legends such as Albert Pujols and Tori Hunter were mentioned, but in the end, the Angels’ final choice was Suzuki, who consistently played as a catcher during his active career and gained experience at the front desk.
사진 확대 Angels general manager Perry Minasian is putting Suzuki on a uniform. Photo = Courtesy of William Liang-Imagn Images= Yonhap News
Suzuki is not at least a bad choice, given that he was a catcher and has no coaching experience after retirement, but helped run the club as a front desk. There are many successful coaches among the former catchers.
The problem is the contract. According to local media such as “The Athletic,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian publicly said at a press conference for the coach’s inauguration that Suzuki’s contract was a one-year contract.
In general, it is customary for a coach to sign a multi-year contract, no matter how new a coach is. It is a minimum device to prevent lame duck. Even if it is cut when it is cut, the players will listen to the coach only when they give the players the perception that “there will be a person next year.”
However, the Angels openly admitted that they gave a one-year contract to a novice coach from the beginning.
It’s not that the coach has never joined the team on a one-year contract. Dusty Baker signed a one-year contract with the Houston Astros back in 2020. However, it was a managerial recruitment of the nature to deal with the team at a time when A.J. Hinch suddenly stepped down due to the signing scandal. And Baker was a veteran coach who was proven enough not to be tied to the length of his contract. Not Suzuki.
사진 확대 Beginner coach Suzuki is on the verge of becoming a lame duck from the start. Photo = Courtesy of William Liang-Imagn Images= Yonhap News
It certainly compares to Skip Schumacher’s four-year deal with the Texas Rangers, and even Tony Bytello, who has no major league coaching experience, agreeing to a three-year deal with the San Francisco Giants.
There are two reasons why the Angels made this choice. The first is to set the expiration date of the contract with Minasian. If the desperate situation repeats in the 2026 season, the coach and general manager can be “purged” at the same time. “He’s intertwined with me,” Minasian said, acknowledging that the two are destined communities.
The second reason is that the possible lockout in 2027 has affected it. Di Astairetic explained that owner Arte Moreno may not have wanted to pay the manager at a time when the season is not open because labor issues have not been resolved.
A team that hasn’t played in the postseason since 2014 can’t suddenly get better just because they’ve changed a coach in one season. Suzuki is likely to be offered as an offering a year later with Minasian.
Nevertheless, he seems to have accepted this fate calmly. “The last six years of my career were all one-year contracts,” he said at a press conference. I just kept moving forward. I want to be here, I want this seat. Throughout my career, I had to prove myself every season on end. It’s not scary at all. It just inspires me to be better,” he said, expressing his determination to take on difficult challenges.
[San Francisco (USA) = KIM JAE HO, MK Sports Correspondent]