(670 The Score) ) While the general understanding around MLB when then-manager Joe Maddon and the Cubs parted ways after the 2019 season was that he wanted to return to the organization on a second contract, that wasn’t the public stance Maddon took in the days, weeks and months afterward.
As Maddon explained it then, it was a mutual breakup.
“When it got down to the last couple days, it was really obvious to both sides,” Maddon told the Tampa Bay Times in October 2019. “I didn’t want to be back either. It was more of a bilateral than a unilateral decision.”
On Saturday, Maddon shed more light on his mindset at the end of his Cubs tenure, publicly acknowledging he did want to return in an appearance on Inside the Clubhouse on 670 The Score. Maddon made the comment after being asked for his reaction to the Cubs’ sell-off in late July.
“It’s a sad day in a sense,” Maddon said of the Cubs trading stars Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo. “Listen, we did so well together and all those guys, we cohabitated well, got to and won a World Series together, all of that. But there comes a time sometimes, for all of us, that change is a good thing. Just watching from a distance in how the season was going, what they ended up being after winning so many in a row and then having that tough streak, I think it’s good for everybody, quite frankly. It was good for me, in a sense, to get a new opportunity here, although it would’ve been nice to have stuck around a couple more years – I can’t deny that – with the boys and seen if we could’ve pulled it off again. But I think you get saturated at a certain point, especially in today’s climate and how the game is reported upon, all the different maybe outside pressures or however you want to describe them. I think it was good. I think it was good for everybody. I think (the sell-off) gives the Cubs a chance to do it again. I’m a big fan of Jed (Hoyer), really enjoy Jed and Jason (McLeod) and all the guys back there. So it gives them an opportunity. I know the fans are going to have to wait a bit, and that’s difficult because that is the most glorious place in the world to report to work and I’ve always appreciated that. But I think it’s good. I think Javy will have a rebirth. I had a chance to visit with Rizz already in California when we just played them, really had a wonderful conversation with him. KB, I’ve just exchanged texts to this point, but I’ll get a chance to visit with him too. But again, I think change at a certain point can benefit everybody, and I think that’s what’s going to happen here.”
Maddon managed the Cubs from 2015-'19, compiling a 471-339 (.581) record in Chicago and leading the organization to the World Series title in 2016 and three National League Championship appearances in his tenure.
Maddon, 67, is now in his second season managing the Angels, a job he landed quickly after leaving the Cubs. You can listen to his full interview below. His interview begins around the 23-minute mark.