Stephen A. Smith still thought Mike Scioscia managed the Angels
It has long been argued that legendary sportscaster Stephen A. Smith is spread too thin, and this recent gaffe while discussing the Los Angeles Angels just added fuel to the fire.
Shoutout to Stephen A Smith thinking Mike Scioscia still works for the Angelshttps://t.co/QnOaaUTXjg
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 19, 2019
On his radio program, Smith was discussing the pressure managers face when teams sign franchise players to multimillion dollar deals. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Angels signed Mike Trout to a record contract extension, paying the best player in baseball $430 million to stay in LA for the rest of his career.
Speaking with ESPN colleague Jeff Passan, Smith used Mike Scioscia as an example of managers who will be feeling the pressure to “turn things around” for their respective teams and get the best out of their all-star player.
“We look at other individuals, or Mike Scioscia for example. Entering his 19th season as the manager for this ball club. Does a contract like Mike Trout apply more pressure to somebody like him to turn things around or else [Arte] Moreno is going to move into a different direction?” Smith asked Passan.
That would have been a very logical question. Problem is, Mike Scioscia no longer manages the Angels. The longtime manager retired from his post on September 30, 2018, after 18 years with the club.
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In his response, Passan politely corrected the “First Take” host on his blunder, and informed him the newly appointed manager is Brad Ausmus.
“Well Scioscia is gone, actually. Brad Ausmus is the manager now.”
“Oh my God, I’m sorry I totally forgot about that. I can’t believe I forgot about that. ‘Cause Mike Scioscia was one of my favorite guys. No problem,” Smith proclaimed, backtracking on his earlier statement.
“There’s a lot of shuffling going on during the offseason,” Passan replied.
However, that didn’t stop MLB Twitter from firing off a couple jokes at Smith’s expense.
Stephen A. Smith did not know that Mike Scioscia stepped down as Angels manager at the of the '18 season.
Passan should have let him keep talking. I would have bet that SAS still thinks that David Justice is still playing for the Yankees. https://t.co/GUwjMokTbF— Romelle Slaughter II (@RHS76) March 19, 2019
Others came to Smith’s defense, toting Scioscia’s longevity with the storied club as an easy mistake.
In his defense, Sciosca was the Angels manager for like 20 years. Easy mistake to make. Now if he mentioned Connie Mack being the manager, I'd be worried.
— David R. (@BosToLax) March 19, 2019
While arguably embarrassing, this goof isn’t nearly as bad as when Smith made four glaring errors when discussing the highly contentious divisional matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers back in December.
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