Mike Scioscia | |
Position: | Catcher / Manager |
Bats: | Left |
Throws: | Right |
Birth Date: | 27 November 1958 |
Birth Place: | Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Debutleague: | MLB |
Debutdate: | April 20 |
Debutyear: | 1980 |
Debutteam: | Los Angeles Dodgers |
Finalleague: | MLB |
Finaldate: | October 2 |
Finalyear: | 1992 |
Finalteam: | Los Angeles Dodgers |
Statleague: | MLB |
Stat1label: | Batting average |
Stat1value: | .259 |
Stat2label: | Home runs |
Stat2value: | 68 |
Stat3label: | Runs batted in |
Stat3value: | 446 |
Stat4label: | Managerial record |
Stat4value: | 1,650–1,428 |
Stat5label: | Winning % |
Teams: | As player
As manager As coach |
Highlights: |
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Michael Lorri Scioscia (; born November 27, 1958), nicknamed "Sosh" and "El Jefe",[1] is an American former Major League Baseball catcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He managed the Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels from the 2000 season through the 2018 season, and was the longest-tenured manager in Major League Baseball and second-longest-tenured coach/manager in the "Big Four" (MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA), behind only Gregg Popovich at the time of his retirement. As a player, Scioscia made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in . He was selected to two All-Star Games and won two World Series over the course of his 13-year MLB career, which was spent entirely with the Dodgers; this made him the only person in MLB history to spend his entire playing career with one team and entire managing career with another team with 10+ years in both places. He was signed by the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers late in his career, but never appeared in a major league game for either team due to injury.
After his playing career ended, Scioscia spent several seasons as a minor league manager and major league coach in the Dodgers organization before being hired as the Angels manager after the 1999 season. As a manager, Scioscia led the Angels to their only-to-date World Series championship in . He is the Angels' all-time managerial leader in wins, games managed, and division titles. Scioscia was honored with the American League Manager of the Year Award in and . On May 8, 2011, Scioscia became the 56th manager to win 1,000 or more games, and the 23rd to have all 1,000 or more victories with a single team.[2]
Scioscia was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first round (19th overall pick) of the 1976 amateur draft.
Scioscia debuted for the Dodgers in 1980 (replacing Steve Yeager) and went on to play 12 years for the team. Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda helped lobby Scioscia to sign with the Dodgers after the team drafted him out of Springfield (Delaware County) High School, a public school located in the suburbs of Philadelphia in 1976.
Scioscia made himself invaluable to the Dodgers by making the effort to learn Spanish in order to better communicate with rookie sensation Fernando Valenzuela in 1981.