It was a Mad, Mad Maddon World while it lasted. Say it ain’t SoHo, Joe.
OK, the shock of Joe Maddon, FORMER manager of the Rays, has worn off. His less-than-seamless–less-than-Maddonesque, to be honest–departure is now well behind us, even if “tampering” rumors continue and accounts of Rick Renteria’s back-stabbing persist. And Maddon’s charm-offensive press conference in Chicago at the Cubby Bear bar (“The first round’s on me”) across from the Wrigley Field “cathedral” is now part of Windy City lore. The Chicago Sun Times has already debuted the “Madhouse” headline.
Here’s what’s worth remembering.
We got Maddon, then 50, in 2005–at a critical point in his career. Right before he would be typecast forever as a Los Angeles Angels assistant. Keep in mind that he had unsuccessfully interviewed in, among other places, Boston. That’s where Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein chose Terry Francona over Maddon.
And Epstein, it so happens, is now the guy who just hired Maddon for the Cubs. Ironic, if not karmic. Timing–in the form of an opt-out clause and an overachiever’s track record–was everything.
But as much as Maddon loved living here and meeting the challenge of succeeding against the odds, he was always about “capturing the moment” and seizing the day. “Sixty is the new 40,” he has been saying. So, we really can’t be totally shocked that Madden, 60, relished the catbird-seat moment when “opt-out” met the “new 40.”
As it turned out, Chicago–as in the World Series-starved Cubs–was the one place that made perfect sense for this uniquely successful, brass-ring coveting baseball romantic. The pieces were in place: a great, vibrant city, an iconic field, a lot of money, a trove of young talent and a century-old, lovable loser forever awaiting the ultimate turnaround artist. For Maddon, winning a World Series with the Cubs would top everything else–including well-noted success in a small-market with a problematic payroll and an obsolete facility.
If you saw his pitch-perfect press conference last week, you know that Maddon is already undefeated. The Chicago media practically genuflected.
Smart, personable, community-loving, cool hipster Joe Gnome was a perfect fit for Tampa Bay, this most imperfect of markets. Now this Sabremetics-meets-old-school-values hybrid is on the ultimate baseball stage, and a lot wealthier for it.
It was an improbable, circuitous route for this son of plumber Joe Maddonini and waitress Albina Klocek–from Easton, Pa. to Chicago by way of Southern California and Tampa Bay–but he is, quite arguably, where he now belongs.
But he’d better win a World Series.