Scioscia steps down from Angels after 19-year run as manager

For the first time in nearly a generation, Mike Scioscia won't be running the Los Angeles Angels.

Scioscia made official what had long been presumed following the Angels' win on Sunday, announcing that he's stepping down as manager after a remarkable 19-year run.

"I think it's the right move for me. It's the right move for the organization," an emotional Scioscia said during his postgame press conference.

"The dedication and commitment Mike Scioscia has given Angels baseball over the last 19 years greatly contributed to our evolution into an elite organization," Angels owner Arte Moreno said in a statement. "You will always be a part of the Angels family."

Angels president John Carpino said the decision to resign was entirely Scioscia's, according to the Los Angeles Times' Bill Shaikin.

Although he leaves the Angels after three straight losing seasons, the 59-year-old will go down as the most decorated manager in the franchise's history.

The Angels, established in 1961, had only made the playoffs three times before hiring Scioscia in 2000. Under his watch, they made the playoffs seven times in a 13-year span from 2002-14. He also led the Angels to their first-ever playoff series victory, AL pennant, and World Series championship in 2002.

Scioscia, a two-time AL Manager of the Year, amassed a 1,650-1,428 record over his 3,078 games with the Angels, producing winning records in all but seven of his 19 years at the helm. He guided the team to six division titles, won 90-plus games six times, and led the Angels to their only 100-win season in club history in 2008. Those 1,650 wins not only rank 18th in baseball history, but are the fifth-most managerial wins collected with a single team, trailing four Hall of Fame skippers.

Additionally, only Mack, McGraw, Cox, and Alston managed more games with one team than Scioscia did with the Angels.

Before Sunday, Scioscia was tied with New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick - who was also hired in 2000 - as the second-longest tenured active manager or coach in major North American professional sports, trailing only Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs. Scioscia's resignation leaves Bruce Bochy, who's been managing the San Francisco Giants since 2007, as baseball's longest-tenured active skipper.

"He's been synonymous with Angels baseball," Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black, who spent six years on Scioscia's coaching staff, told Shaikin this week. "It's going to be weird to not see him in that dugout."

Earlier this week, before news of Scioscia's departure became official, it was reported that former Gold Glove third baseman Eric Chavez - who currently holds a position in the Angels' front office - is considered the favorite to take over as the Angels' manager.