KURT SUZUKI is the manager for 2026 ; Perry Miniasian was general manager (Angels photo).

With about a quarter of the season yet to go, the Los Angeles Angels let go of a bunch of coaches and brought in a bunch of “new” ones this week.

It’s hard to know what – if any – kind of impact this new crew will have on the remaining weeks of play as the Halos continue on their mission to escape the cellar of the American League West.

It does bring to mind a couple of questions related to the impact of coaches and managers on professional athletes.

Does a coach or manager deserve high praise for having a player or team perform well? Or is it sometimes a matter of “harmonic convergence,” also known as “being in the right place at the right time?”

Old-timers might remember Dick Williams, who managed the Boston Red Sox (then a regular occupant of the bottom of the American League) to a pennant in 1968. Brilliant, the scribes said. Tough guy gets the most from his players.

But in 1974 and 1975 the team finished dead last in the AL and he was dumped the next season.

Overall, it seems to me that one of the problems with the Angels has been the quick-to-fire policies of top management. After Mike Sciocscia retired, the Angels followed with a series of one- and two-year contracts for field managers, none of whom were given enough time to put his stamp on the team and the organization.

Current manager Kurt Suzuki will probably get the boot after this season and the wheel goes round and round.
Maybe the best way to pick leadership is to find folks who are lucky, since – so far – the resumes on paper haven’t been followed by success on the field.