Cubs Introduce Joe Maddon As New Manager
By Chuck Sudo in News on Nov 3, 2014 9:45PM
After a week of speculation followed by a weekend of anticipation, Cubs fans were introduced to new manager Joe Maddon at a news conference at the Cubby Bear Monday afternoon. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but it’s believed Maddon signed a five-year, $25 million deal with incentives tied to postseason success. Most important, the deal does not include an opt-out clause.
Maddon hit all the right notes as he met the media who will scrutinize his every decision in a few months. “This is pretty special for me personally and my family,” Maddon said and added he was in “philosophical alignment” with the Theo Epstein-Jed Hoyer rebuilding program, exclaimed “don’t ever permit the pressure to exceed the pleasure” regarding postseason expectations and declared his love for National League Baseball. Epstein said Maddon had everything he and Hoyer were looking for in a manager. “It’s hard to find old-school and new-school in the same package.”
The Cubs’ hiring of Madden may not have happened if the Tampa Bay Rays agreed to an “olive-branch offer” by Maddon and his agent Alan Nero. The Rays are believed to have offered Maddon a multiyear extension including a raise from his $1.8 million salary in Tampa. The deal, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, was still below market value. Maddon countered with a deal that would have paid him market value but still less than what the Cubs ultimately offered. Heyman’s report could hamper any attempts by the Rays to file tampering charges against the Cubs.
Maddon exuded confidence as he declared the Cubs, with a roster of young talent, is primed for immediate postseason success and the end of a 116-year championship drought. “In my mind’s eye, we’re going to the World Series this year,” he said, adding, I’m going to be talking playoffs next year.”
“The challenge is so outstanding, how could you not want to be in this city?”