Joe Maddon Will Not Return as Cubs Manager
Joe Maddon is the only manager in Cubs history to take the team to four consecutive postseason appearances. He’s also the manager who broke the curse and brought home a World Series title after 108 years of frustration. And now, he’s out as manager following a disappointing season that has the team searching for ways to change direction.
Joe and Theo got together last night, split a bottle of wine in Theo's hotel room and came to the conclusion that their five year run together had come to an end.
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) September 29, 2019
Maddon met with Theo Epstein Saturday night over a bottle of wine and decided their run had come to an end. The manager had been having “good, emotional talks” with players over the past few days and it’s seemed for a while that things were heading in this direction, but the finality of it is still jarring.
“We spent probably 30-40 minutes together really celebrating an unbelievable five-year run,” Epstein said of the move. “We thought back to when we first got together down at the beach in Pensacola and we never could’ve imagined this working out as well as it did. I personally never could’ve imagined having such a wonderful partner, someone so loyal and supportive and someone from whom I’ve learned so much about baseball and life and someone who I consider a lifelong friend.
“We both agreed that this type of change is…that it’s time, and that this type of change is a win-win. It’s gonna be great for Joe, [who’s] at a wonderful point in his life. He won’t talk about this right now, but I will: There’s gonna be a bidding war for his services and there should be. He’s in a great position and I so look forward to his next chapter in baseball and in life, and it’s gonna be good for the Cubs too.”
There will be a lot more to come on this and what it means for the organization going forward and we’ll have it for you as the situation develops.