Why Angels pitching coach Mickey Callaway hasn't been fired for alleged harassment
The Angels will hold their first spring training workout Wednesday in Tempe, Ariz., with bullpen coach Matt Wise serving as interim pitching coach in place of Mickey Callaway.
Callaway, accused by multiple women of sexual harassment, was suspended Feb. 2 and is under investigation. He remains employed by the organization as — unlike recently fired Mets general manager Jared Porter — he has denied wrongdoing.
The coach's suspension came after the Athletic reported that he was accused of making inappropriate advances toward at least five women in the sports media industry over the course of about five years when he was employed by the Cleveland Indians, New York Mets and Angels.
Angels manager Joe Maddon declined to comment on Callaway’s situation during a video call on Tuesday, citing the ongoing investigation. Callaway, 45, spent two seasons as the Mets manager (2018-2019) before being hired by the Angels before last season.
His suspension came two weeks after the Mets fired Porter because of sexual-harassment allegations. Porter admitted to the Mets — after ESPN reported the wrongdoing — that he had sent a string of unsolicited inappropriate text messages to a female reporter.
Wise, 45, pitched collegiately at Pepperdine and Cal State Fullerton and spent eight seasons in the big leagues, including three with the Angels, from 2000 to 2002, going 17-22 with a 4.23 ERA in 209 career games.
He began coaching in the Angels organization shortly after his retirement and spent two seasons as minor league pitching coordinator before being promoted to big league bullpen coach in 2020. Dom Chiti, recently hired as a special assistant to general manager Perry Minasian, will fill in for Wise as bullpen coach.
Ohtani optimism grows
Maddon said Ohtani, who is more than two years removed from Tommy John surgery, is a “full-go” for spring training and that the right-hander has been hitting 95 mph with his fastball in recent bullpen workouts.
“His delivery and arm stroke look good, as do the velo numbers he’s showing in workouts,” Maddon said. “It’s hard to show 95-plus numbers in a workout. Normally in a [bullpen session], a guy is working on things, and you get a nice number, but you’re not going to get a big number. These numbers are big.”
A healthy Ohtani, who went 4-1 with a 3.10 ERA in his first nine starts of 2018 before tearing his elbow ligament, would be a huge boon to the rotation that ranked second-to-last in the major leagues with an ERA of 5.52 last season.
“If we get Shohei going in the right direction, that would be a pretty good offseason acquisition right there,” Maddon said. “Getting him back out there on a consistent basis. … We’ve seen what he’s capable of doing. He’s pretty confident right now. I’m real eager to watch this.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
