Former Cubs manager Joe Maddon continues to torch MLB in latest Giants comments

Joe Maddon hasn't managed in an MLB game since 2022. That year, Angels GM Perry Minasian fired the three-time Manager of the Year amidst a 12-game losing streak and, despite an oft-stated interest to return to the game, no team has seen Maddon as a solution in the dugout.

During the last three years, Maddon hasn't been shy about taking shots at front offices and the general direction of the game, which probably hasn't helped his standing in the eyes of baseball executives. His latest topic of ire? New San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello, who was hired despite having zero coaching or managerial experience in Major League Baseball.

“Quite frankly, I’m using the word insulting only from the perspective that it appears as though you don’t have to have any kind of experience on a professional level to do this job anymore ... When I was coming up, you had to have all that. You had to, like, go through the minor leagues. You had to ride buses. I was a scout. I started in 1981. I finally get a managerial job in 2006. I mean, there was a rite of passage, a method to get to that point. So to think that somebody could just jump in there and do it, you took 20-some years to be considered qualified to do, it is kind of insulting.”

Joe Maddon compares Tony Vitello hiring to Zohran Mamdani's election

Maddon went on to say he wishes Vitello 'nothing but the best' - but paired that with a comment comparing Vitello's hiring as an MLB manager to Zohran Mamdani's election as New York City mayor - pointing out a lack of experience on both men's part for the roles they've now assumed.

In the not-so-distant past, Maddon was one of the game's visionary leaders. Just a decade ago, he led the 2015 Cubs to a surprise NLCS run and then finished the job by ending a 108-year championship drought the very next season, cementing his place in baseball lore forever.

But since his firing in Anaheim, the shine has worn off the 71-year-old, due largely to his public comments. It's clear at this point that his managerial career is over - so when he makes comments like this, it can easily be perceived as him being upset he's getting passed over for opportunities (eight different teams have hired new managers this offseason).

Vitello will have to prove that his skill set gleaned during an impressive college coaching career translates to the game's highest level. Nobody is questioning that fact. It's the biggest unknown facing the former University of Tennessee coach. But coming from Maddon, it seems like just the latest sound bite from a guy upset he never got a chance to return to the dugout.