Chicago Cubs: Five-hundred games in, Joe Maddon has been a franchise changer

Humble beginnings

When many people nowadays think of Joe Maddon, they think about the Chicago Cubs. Before that, people thought about the Tampa Bay Rays. Nobody of this generation knows Maddon beyond those two roles. However, he has much more to his story than people realize.

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Before making his splash in the managerial game, Maddon found himself apart of the Angels organization. His first thirty-one years, Maddon spent the entirety in the Angels organization.

After seeing himself at the minor league level for a decade plus, Maddon officially made it to the major league team as a bench coach.

Two short years later, in 1996, Maddon found the first taste of managerial work, filling in as the interim manager for a short period. He went 8-14 during the stretch. Three years after that, he once again found himself there, this time posting a 19-10 record.

Starting in 2000, under the wing of now-former Angels manager Mike Scioscia, Maddon played the role of bench coach for about a decade in Anaheim. From 2000-2005 was the time Maddon was under Scioscia, which included the 2002 World Series, an Angels victory over the San Francisco Giants.