The Angels are planning to hire Phil Nevin as their next third base coach, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link). Nevin has spent the last four seasons as the Yankees’ third base coach, before his contract wasn’t renewed back in October. FanSided’s Robert Murray reported two weeks ago that Nevin and the Angels were in discussions.
An Orange County native, Nevin is returning to southern California and will wear an Angels uniform for the second time in his baseball career — Nevin played for the Halos back in 1998, one of seven teams Nevin appeared with over his 12 Major League seasons. Of note, current Angels manager Joe Maddon was on the team’s coaching staff when Nevin played for the club.
After his retirement as a player, Nevin worked as a broadcaster and then as a manager in independent baseball before moving onto coaching and managerial roles in the Tigers and Diamondbacks farm systems. Nevin made the move back to the big leagues as the Giants’ third base coach in 2017 before joining the Yankees. Nevin (who turns 51 in January) has been a candidate for multiple MLB managerial openings in the past, getting consideration from the D’Backs, Tigers, and Astros.
Three vacancies on the Angels’ coaching staff opened up when the team opted against retaining third base coach Brian Butterfield, first base coach Bruce Hines, and catching coach Jose Molina. The first base job could also soon be filled, as Rosenthal reports that former Padres coach Wayne Kirby is in talks with the Halos. Kirby has a decade of experience as a Major League first base coach, working eight seasons with the Orioles and the last two years with San Diego. While no official announcement has come from the Padres that they were parting ways with Kirby, the coaching staff is expected to be overhauled under new manager Bob Melvin.
He’s your problem now Angels.
Why do you say that?
Read my comment below.
Let’s:. he made questionable decisions over and over again for the Yankees and has been involved in physical altercations with men half his age and in better shape. Another Don Zimmer incident waiting to happen. Coaches should be peacemakers not instigators.
Dammit.
They’re meant for each other
How long until they acquire his son Tyler from Baltimore cause why not
Incredible for him. He went to high school 15 minutes from the stadium and college 10 minutes.
He will still find a way to screw up directions
How do people on here know if someone is a good 3rd base coach or not? Is it % of guys thrown out at the plate? If that’s the case what is the best % for guys thrown out at the plate makes a good 3rd base coach.
Yankees led the league in getting thrown out at home last year.
They slow
Maybe the Yankees should hire Davey Lopes Yankees need a course in base running.
Phil Nevens scapegoat
@twoseamer
Which is a good reason to be careful about sending a runner home.
So there’s that, @Person.
& like Joe said, we *did* get nailed at home a *lot*. But two things every fan base seems to grumble about are: RISPfail & the 3rd base coach.
I think there is a bit of scapegoating here.
& – if I recall right – Nevin was the only coach Boone was allowed to hire. Which just makes me feel it was a pretty convenient way for Cash to extend his influence even *further* into the dugout. Where – I feel – he doesn’t belong.
Ducky, sadly it’s the game today with upper management making more and more decisions. In this case though, if Nevin was Boone’s lone choice, it tells me a lot. From the games I watched, Nevin probably cost the team home field for the one game playoff. Knowing your runner and the arm throwing are paramount for a third base coach.
Did you not watch the playoffs????
I did, @chino. & you’re right. That was certainly ugly. But – more often than not – I could see why he rolled the dice. We couldn’t hit. To me, that was the actual problem. & Nevin’s aggressiveness was merely a symptom.
instead of running hard every Yankee looks over their shoulder to see where the ball is. It slows them down and most of the time it’s their fault when they’re out. Blaming a coach is easier than blaming a guy making millions
You clearly didn’t watch the Yankees last year. Nevin was absolutely awful
Joseph Gonzalez what makes a good 3rd base coach?
1.) The front office computer guys love the contact play. All of those outs are on them. Not Nevin.
2.) As multiple posters here pointed out, we were a slow team. Now. I’m not insensitive to the argument that Nevin should know his guys.
(but)
3.) We finished 19th in runs scored last season. Nineteenth! Bro. There were NL clubs that outscored us. Yuck. So in light of that I don’t really have a problem with Nevin pushing the envelope there. Desperate times & all that.
Personally, the only time I get pissed at the 3rd base coach is when the 3rd out is made at 3rd base. That’s the only unforgivable transgression for me. & we didn’t see a whole lot of that last year.
I’ve a hard time categorizing Nevin as “absolutely awful”. & I certainly watched plenty of Yankee games.
So.
Giving extra outs is probably a big reason why the Yanks scored so few runs. Why protect management? Nevin’s main job was to evaluate on the fly. An aggressive coach will always run the team into outs but he was atrocious last season
I don’t think I’m protecting anyone, Dewey.
Look. In ’17 the Yanks were second in MLB in runs. Same in ’18. In ’19 we led MLB & in 2020 finished 4th. Had we been knocking the snot out of the ball like those clubs, a number of those sends wouldn’ve been atrocious or whatever. (Note: Nevin was part of those ’18-’20 ballclubs successes too.)
But our batting was what was *actually* atrocious last year. So that absolutely changes my perspective. He took some shots that certainly didn’t work out & looked bad in the moment/hindsight. But I feel a lot of those were understandable in light of just how poor our overall offense was. Take your chances when you can. Ya know? We weren’t getting many.
I will always favor an aggressive approach on the bases. Even more so with a team that is offensively challenged. & he wasn’t unemployed for very long, uh? So – at the very least – the Angels agee with my take as well. I don’t care for the “appeal to authority” argument. But it’s worth noting.
I really don’t think his work was as bad as it is being made out to be. We could have had the greatest 3rd base coach in the history of MLB & it wouldn’t’ve helped. Batting coach? Certainly. I was calling for a change there by June. 3rd base coach? I don’t think that is going to accomplish much (if anything).
You’re an idiot.
But in the end, did more runners score
Off the aggressiveness? Number thrown out is arbitrary…:number of total runs scored is not
Maybe if the Yankees had some speed on the base paths, getting thrown out at home wouldn’t have been a problem
So what they led the league. That stat without context has no value.
The contact play with one out, for example, is a very high percentage play in totality, that gets players thrown out at home.
Angels have one of the faster teams in terms of sprint speed. Ohtani, Trout, Gosselin, Adell, Marsh, and now Wade. You’re not going to throw any of them out very often regardless of the 3rd base coach.
The answer to the last question is the important one. One I see everyone who has commented has avoided. I suspect it’s because they don’t know. If the Yankees didn’t get a single runner thrown out at home was Nevin then the best 3rd base coach?
Maybe he would be. If 0 runners are thrown out at home, then the 3b coach is either very good, very lucky, or too conservative. There is a youtube clip of Buster Posey putting on his catching gear and chewing out Nevin after Nevin failed to send a runner on a Posey single.
Exactly everyone just looks at the number of runners thrown out at home and say he’s terrible. They would probably incorrectly assume if his number was 0 he is the best. More likely they just don’t know what makes a good 3rd base coach and should just not have a opinion. I’m not knowledgeable enough to have a opinion on the subject is a sentence you’ll never see on here.
I’m not saying Nevin is good or bad I just want the experts here to tell me who is a good 3rd base coach and what is the proper % for runners thrown out at home.
% is not a measurable stat here. Those who watched the Yankees last season or listened to local sports radio the following days know how bad Nevin was last year.
iverbure – you won’t get an answer because most every comment is conjecture.
lmaoooo clearly they didn’t watch the wild card game
Clearly you don’t know how slow your baserunners are and thank you for your two fastest baserunners you guys had last year seems like we’ll need them.
We saw nevin all year, it want just the wild card game
I rather have men on second and third instead of having Judge get thrown out at home from a hard hit double off the wall by Stanton. Why give outs away in a crucial playoff game?? You can be aggressive if the team is up but not when you’re down.
Good, now he can get Trout thrown out at home plate!
Funny you say that, I have complained about every Third Base Coach since Showalter fired Willie Randolph
I have not liked any of the Orioles third base Coach(s) since then
Angels putting the league on notice with this move by telling every team in MLB that they want their players thrown out at home plate.
I remember Brian Butterfield getting so many accolades from so many players (kind of like what Ron Washington is getting now). Have to wonder what caused the fall from grace.
Yeah, and he was considered a future manager at one time.
I don’t think that there is necessarily anything wrong with Butterfield, but it’s a case of new management wanting to put in place their people. Minnassian inherited Maddon and the staff. So he’s bringing in the people he wants on the deck of his ship, so it sinks or floats based on his decisions. He did the same thing with the executive staff.
I don’t see this as much of an issue. The Angels don’t get all that many runners to third base in the first place.
The Angels actually scored more runs per game than the Yankees and were bunched up in the middle of the league. Without Trout, Rendon and much of Upton.
You’re right– with Ohtani leading the league in triples he’s already on third. And all the homers they’ll ht with this lineup they can jog around the bases– who needs a coach?
Without two of their best hitters last year, they were a league average offense. They’re an inept team as a whole, but offense is not the problem.
good hiring! he helps the team to sweep the junkees!
He only will help the team get runners thrown out at home
Perhaps shouldn’t have sent Judge. I like Phil as a person. Very outgoing and personable when he was managing the Aces here in Reno, but he’s not with the Yankees anymore for a reason.
Angels… how can they continue to make such bad decisions… time to get em all thrown out at home this year… Nevin repeats his mistakes, this won’t end well for Anaheim
If Nevin is that critical to their success this team is in real trouble.
They are always in trouble in Anaheim.. hiring another retread that’s been fired bc of his continued mistakes is such an Angels move.
Can’t send fragile players around 3rd since they are scared to run hard into home. Better to use the homerun trot into the plate
Apparently the yankees did not win the 2021 World Championship because of their third base coach.
Said no one ever.
Funny how many coaches end up fired during a Joe Maddon tenure. Eventually the teams front office figures it out and he’s fired too. Will be in 2022.
just in time to bring bud, the pitching wizard, black!
The Angels are back baby!
Angels just aren’t very bright
Because they want Phil Nevin to coach 3rd? I hope you aren’t as critical of your significant other?
you mean a pit bull?
you seriously think people say they aren’t bright bc of a 3rd base coach hiring? this is just another typical Angels kinda mistake to tack on to the multitude of mistakes they have made the past decade. If you like their moves the past 10 years besides Trout and Ohtani, then not sure what to say.. enjoy being a fan of a perennial loser.
I would rather have Tim Salmon as my 3rd base Coach. & Darrin Erstad as my 1st Base Coach
Angels sign Max Scherzer 3 years 150 mil.
You wish. I’m sure he will wait until at least February to take the highest offer
Welp prepare to have a lot of runners thrown out at home angels fans and I’m not exaggerating. This guy is AWFUL
This was the Angels big Free Agent signing
I’m more concerned with the effectiveness of the Angels Pitching Coach and his coordinators and analysts.
You and me both Angels and NL west.
The last time Nevin wore an Angels uniform (the late 90’s Disneyland Ushers looking uniforms) he started 64 games behind the plate. Maybe Nevin can be 3B Coach/backup Catcher?
Good hire.
he did an awful job of coaching with the yankees thats why they did not keep him
Phil Nevin is indeed a Red A. Perhaps an all-timer. He is a different guy eating at Rubios than when waving runners to their doom at the ballyard, but he sure can get his red on in a hurry.
I’d like to see a career RA WAR ranking. I’d suspect the public would disproportionately rank Ty Cobb’s career RA WAR above a guy like Nevin. Perhaps, not so fast there.
Both likely lag well behind modern-times RA WAR superstars such as Rob Dibble and Milton Bradley, but I personally wouldn’t sleep on OG RA’s like Marty Bergen.
sergefunction – I read it twice and I still have no idea what you said.
you have to start at the end of his post and read backward.
Like spinning the album record backwards to hear the secret message
To bad the teams couldn’t work out a trade involving Boone and Maddon.
Many of you guys are acting like if not for Nevin, the Yankees would have won the WS. Nevin fills a hole on the staff that can be changed at any moment.
Pitching, that’s all the Angels should be focused on.
Nevin knew his team’s running abilities and the Yankees still lead the league un getting thrown out at the plate.
He has no idea of the Angels running abilities, which means things will get ugly very quickly for the Angels.
Look forward to reading the comments on the Angels boards next season.
sniper, et al – If it’s true that Nevin is personally responsible for the Yankees’ failure to score when rounding third, it is probably also true that those stats were mentioned in the interview process between the Angels and Nevin. It is also probably true, based on my experience in speaking with employees and prospects in my world, that a game plan was discussed to remedy the situation.
Stevie Wonder would do better.
When Phil was in college he played on my softball team a few times. The Trollbusters. We were a very good team and he was just one of the guys. He obviously made us better, but not by much. We were good. He was a great guy and a great teammate. Wonder if he would remember me. Bet he would.