Angel Pagan hits strike four for a three-run game-winning homer

By Craig CalcaterraApr 26, 2012, 4:06 PM EDT
30 Comments

Angel Pagan came to the plate in the top of the ninth inning with the Giants down 5-3 to the Reds.  Two outs One out. Two strikes on the batter. And then: heroics!  A three run bomb off closer Sean Marshall that ended up winning the game for San Francisco!

Except … check out the pitch right before the home run:

source:

That third one was the 0-2 pitch. And it was called a ball.  The fourth one — which was the fourth strike Marshall threw — was the homer.

I know a pitcher has to shake off a bad call and make his pitches — and it’s not like the umpire caused Pagan to hit it over the fence — but man, it’s a lot harder of a game when you have to throw four strikes to a hitter and not just three.

The Angels are giving managerial candidates a two-hour written test

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By Craig CalcaterraOct 15, 2018, 11:26 AM EDT
7 Comments

Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports that the Los Angeles Angels are administering a two-hour written test to managerial candidates. The test presents “questions spanning analytical, interpersonal and game-management aspects of the job,” according to Morosi.

I can’t find any reference to it, but I remember another team doing some form of written testing for managerial candidates within the past couple of years. Questions which presented tactical dilemmas, for example. I don’t recall it being so intense, however. And then, as now, I have a hard time seeing experienced candidates wanting to sit for a two-hour written exam when their track record as a manager, along with an interview to assess compatibility should cover most of it. Just seems like an extension of the current trend in which front offices are taking away authority and, with this, some measure of professional respect, from managers.