October 17, 2007

MLB: Angels' GM steps down after establishing Angels' way in Salt Lake
By Martin Renzhofer
The Salt Lake Tribune

Late this past summer, Los Angeles Angels general manager Bill Stoneman, during one of his monthly visits to Salt Lake City, talked about creating the "Angel way," a philosophy of winning baseball.

It's a philosophy that has seen a host of quality players move through the Angels' minor league system, including the Salt Lake Bees.

Stoneman, 63, who helped make the Angels into perennial contenders, stepped down from his position Tuesday. Now, Tony Reagins, 40, the Angels' Director of Player Development since 2002, will fill Stoneman's shoes. Abe Flores, 43, has been promoted to Director of Player Development.

"We set the tone early on," said Stoneman, who was hired by Los Angeles owner Arte Moreno in Nov. 1999.

The first move Stoneman made was to hire former L.A. Dodgers catcher Mike Scioscia as manager.

At the time, Stoneman was criticized for employing someone with little experience as a manager.

Since that hiring, the Angels, which had been to the postseason just three times in its history, reached the playoffs four times, winning the World Series in 2002. This year, the Angels won the AL West Division, but were swept in the first round by Boston.

Under Stoneman, the Angels became known for taking the extra base and keeping the opposition's defense under constant pressure.

"When I hired Mike, one of the first things we talked about was the type of play, what we were looking for from players, build a philosophy," Stoneman said. "We agreed we should do everything we could to build pitching. But the No. 2 was aggressive play. We agreed that was the way to play.

"He came from an outfit that played that way and so did I. It's a winning style that keeps everyone in the game."

That philosophy filtered through the Angels' minor league affiliates, as evidenced by the Triple-A Bees. Stoneman will continue to advise Reagins and Scioscia.

Among Stoneman's significant moves was signing pitcher Bartolo Colon and slugger Vladimir Guerrero in January 2004.

Guerrero was the league MVP in 2004, while Colon won the Cy Young Award in 2005.

Before joining Los Angeles, Stoneman served as the Vice President, Baseball Operations for the then-Montreal Expos.

He pitched eight seasons for three teams, compiling only a 54-85 record. But he also threw two no-hitters.

"We expect an aggressive style of play," Stoneman said. "We don't want to see them take it easy, ever. And it works and they have fun with it."

Salt Lake baseball fans should not notice anything new in 2008.

"I think it should be a real natural transition," said Brian Harper, who managed Salt Lake to the PCL playoffs in 2006 and 2007. "There won't be much effect [on Salt Lake City] at all. Abe's been Tony's right-hand man and Tony's been Bill's right-hand man. It should be an easy transition."

Salt Lake general manager Marc Amicone has yet to speak with Los Angeles' management, but called the transition seamless.

"Abe's been around quite a bit, two or three times a year," he said. "From what we see, with Tony's background in the farm system, if anything, it should be positive for the clubs.

"That's where Tony's background comes from, where his philosophy would be, building from the farm system. He's paid his dues, from the ground level up."

Reagins began his career with the Angels as an intern in baseball operations in 1992. He graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 1991 with a degree in marketing and earned an AA degree in business administration from the College of the Desert in 1988.

Reagins has never played professional baseball, but Harper didn't see that as a disadvantage.

"That's the trend now," he said. "As baseball moves forward, the GM position has become more of an office job than a field job."

Under Reagins, the Angels' farm system has produced Howie Kendrick, Reggie Willits, Robb Quinlan, Kendry Morales, Erick Aybar, Jeff Mathis, Mike Napoli, Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders. In addition, Minor League News awarded Los Angeles with the 2007 Farm System of the Year award.

"I look forward to maintaining the success of Bill Stoneman and our entire Baseball Operations department, while at the same time, furthering the goals and objectives of the entire Angels organization," Reagins said at the L.A. press conference. "I'm ready for the challenge."