Angels franchise great linked to Halos' managerial opening

Arte Moreno may be going full Jeanie Buss as his team looks for a new manager.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Thursday that, while former Mets skipper Buck Showalter is a candidate for the Angels job, Halos great Darin Erstad is being mentioned in connection with the opening as well. The Angels are in the market for a new manager after letting Phil Nevin go amid their 73-89 finish to the season.

The link between Showalter and the Angels has already been established. But Erstad, 49, is a very interesting new name to emerge. He is remembered extremely fondly by Angels fans for his stint with the team from 1996-2006. Erstad made two All-Star teams, won three Gold Gloves and took home a Silver Slugger Award during his time in Anaheim. He was also the starting center fielder on their 2002 championship team, hitting a clutch home run in the eighth inning of World Series Game 6 and catching the final out in Game 7 that clinched the title for the Angels.

After retiring as a player, Erstad went on to become the head coach of the Nebraska college baseball team. He had an overall record of 267-193-1 in his eight seasons in charge (including four NCAA Tournament appearances and a Big Ten Coach of the Year Award) before resigning from his post in 2019.

It still sounds like Showalter may be the front-runner for the job — Heyman also notes that the Angels owner Moreno is said to like Showalter. But the Angels very recently gave jobs to two franchise legends and now appear to be at least considering a third one in Erstad to be their new skipper.