In the previous five seasons, Joe Maddon took the Chicago Cubs four times to the postseason and won them their first Word Series in 108 years. So it is natural you would think that one bad season couldn’t change the way Maddon is perceived by the organization, but surprisingly enough, you would be wrong.
Cubs confirmed on Sunday that the team parted ways with Maddon, putting to an end his five-season tenure with the franchise.
According to team president Theo Epstein, Cubs came to a point where they needed to make a change and Maddon felt the same way.
“We both agreed that, this type of change, that it’s time and that this type of change is a win-win.” – said Epstein.
Maddon, who was above .500 in each of his five years in Chicago echoed Epstein’s words in a statement of his own.
“We’re both going to move on,” – said Maddon. “Hopefully, the Cubs are going to flourish. Hopefully, I get a chance to do this someplace else. But there’s no tears shed. It’s a good moment for everybody. And we’re both excited about our futures.”
Cubs entered the September with a good chance of winning National League Central or at least squeeze into National League Wildcard game. Neither happened, as they went on nine-games losing streak and were 11-16 in the past month, which ended up costing Joe Maddon his job.
Maddon leaves Cubs with a regular season record of 471-340 and postseason record of 19-18. He is ranked on the fifth spot when it comes to managers with most wins in the franchise’s history.
