What kind of gamble is this? 11 years in a row, failed to go to PS, and the Los Angeles Angels beat Legend Pujols to appoint a Japanese Suzuki coach with a leadership career
Oct 22, 2025
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The Los Angeles Angels in the U.S. Major League Baseball made a surprising choice. He appointed Kurt Suzuki, 42, of Japanese descent from Hawaii, to the team's new head coach position, beating former team legend Albert Pujols. It's a surprising choice in many ways given Suzuki's age and career. Above all, controversy is growing due to the lack of leadership experience at all.
MLB.COM, the official website of the Major League Baseball, announced on the 22nd (Korea time) 'LA Angels appointed Kurt Suzuki as the new manager'A new coach has been decided a day after Pujols and Tori Hunter were excluded from the Angels' list of candidates the day before.
The Angels also announced on the same day that they have decided on Suzuki, who has served as a special assistant to the team's general manager for the past three seasons.
The Angels played the rest of the season under acting head coach Ray Montgomery in June when former coach Ron Washington underwent sudden heart surgery. In the end, the Angels did not perform well in the 2025 season. He finished at the bottom of the American League West with only 72 wins and 90 losses in the 2025 season (0.444 winning percentage). The Los Angeles Angels have failed to advance to the postseason for 11 consecutive years since 2014. It also left a disastrous record with a winning rate of less than 50% for the 10th consecutive year.
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Initially, Pujols, a legend of the team, was the most likely next Angels manager. It is known that owner Arte Moreno strongly wanted it. However, negotiations with Pujols finally broke down. It was because of the 'money problem'.
Originally, Pujols signed a 10-year-$240 million contract with the Angels in 2012 when he was a player. The contract clause included receiving $10 million for 10 years after retiring from active duty. As a result, Pujols was receiving $3 million from the Angels for three years until this year after retiring in 2022.
However, it is known that this provision became a problem during the negotiation of the supervisory contract. The Angels have to pay $7 million more, but if they sign a supervisory contract, they have to pay double. Negotiations were conducted on this, but it eventually collapsed.
The problem is that Suzuki was the Angels' choice to miss Pujols like this. Suzuki, a Japanese-American from Hawaii, is a catcher who made his big league debut in 2007 after being nominated by the Oakland Athletics in 2004.
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The Angels spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Suzuki, who has since retired from active duty, served as a special assistant to the general manager, helping to manage the club. However, while Suzuki was serving as an assistant, the Angels never performed very well. Suzuki didn't even have the experience of coaching minor leagues.
MLB.COM reported that the new Angels manager Suzuki has no leadership experience at all. Still, he understands the Angels well, and when he was active, he was recognized for his leadership by playing as a clubhouse leader. He also mentioned Suzuki's shortcomings and possibilities of success, saying, `Cland Guardians coach Stephen Boat also succeeded as a coach without coaching experience.
Meanwhile, Suzuki was recorded as the third Japanese-born manager to take the helm of the Major League after former Seattle Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu and current LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. He is also the first major league manager from Hawaii. Suzuki's success or failure could be determined immediately by his performance next season.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
