SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The Los Angeles Angels raided their own their front office today to name MLB veteran Brad Ausmus as field manager of the team, replacing Mike Scoscia.
Ausmus, 49, is a Del Mar resident and former player and clubhouse executive with the San Diego Padres. Ausmus served as an assistant to the Angels general manager this year, and has been working his way up the ladder in Major League Baseball for 23 seasons as a player, and four years as manager of the Detroit Tigers.
General Manager Billy Eppler said Ausmus has a "balance of connectivity, communication and leadership skills, as well as (an) understanding of evolving strategies and probabilistic approach to decision making (which) led us to him.
"We believe his knowledge, drive and growth-mindset will allow him to integrate seamlessly with our players and staff and will be pivotal in advancing our culture and moving us toward our goals as an organization," Eppler said in a statement.
Angels owner Arte Moreno and General Manager Billy Eppler planned to introduce Ausmus as the 17th Angels field manager at a news conference Monday in Anaheim Stadium, the team said. Ausmus steps into shoes just retired by Scioscia, who held the position since 2000.
The team said its corporate policy is to not announce terms of the contract. In late 2013, Ausmus was named Tigers manager and in his first year at the helm Detroit to a 90-72 record and the Central Division title in 2014.
His overall record in the Motor City was 314-332. Ausmus was picked by the New York Yankees in the 47th round of the 1987 First Year Draft, and chose to alternate between attending Dartmouth College and playing minor league baseball in the Yankees farm system.
He graduated from Dartmouth and went to play professional ball, and in 2005, catching for Houston, he became the first Ivy League catcher to play in a World Series since Dartmouth's Chief Meyers in 1916.
And he got revenge on the 1,150 players drafted ahead of him in 1987 by playing in more games than any of them, according to the Angels. Ausmus played five seasons in the Yankees minor league system prior to being selected by the Colorado Rockies organization in the 1992 expansion draft.
After less than a year in Denver, he was traded to San Diego and made his Major League debut with the Padres on July 28, 1992.
His Major League career included time with San Diego (1993-96), Detroit (1996, 1999-2000), Houston (1997-1998, 2001-2007) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (2009-2010). He was selected as a Gold Glove recipient with Houston in 2001, 2002 and 2006.
He remains the Astros all-time leader among catchers in nearly every offensive category, including games played (1,259), hits (970), runs scored (415) and RBI (386). Ausmus made five post-season appearances as a player, including two trips to the National League Championship Series (2004, 2005) and one to the World Series (2005).
In Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS, he homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game at six and send it into extra innings.
Houston went on to win in the 18th inning during a game in which Ausmus caught the first 17 innings, then moved to play one inning at first base, which remains to this date the longest game in post-season history. He also made the 1999 American League All-Star team as a Tiger.
Ausmus and his wife Elizabeth have two daughters, Sophie and Abigail, and reside in Del Mar, the team said.
