New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone excited for Los Angeles Angels interim manager Phil Nevin

The Angels’ decision to fire Joe Maddon on Tuesday simultaneously presented a new opportunity for a former Yankees coach.

Phil Nevin was named interim skipper of the Halos, earning him his first major league managerial job. Nevin is in his first season coaching the Angels, having served as their third base coach this winter. Nevin held the same position on Aaron Boone’s Yankees team from 2018 to 2021. New York did not renew his contract after last season.

Boone said let Nevin, among others, getting through the offseason was “difficult”, but the two grew up together and were close. Nevin called Boone with the news of his promotion on Tuesday. The Yankees manager said the discovery was “emotional.”

“I think he’ll do just fine,” Boone said of Nevin hours after the Angels fired Maddon. “I think he’s such a good baseball player. He’s definitely paid his dues. He’s probably been close to getting a job a few times where he’s probably been a runner-up. But he’s invested a lot in this game. and I’m happy for him to have an opportunity.”

Boone added that he plans to watch Nevin’s managerial debut from his hotel room after the Yankees’ game Tuesday night against the Twins. The Angels host the Red Sox at home on the West Coast at 9:39 p.m., while New York’s game at Minnesota began at 7:40 p.m.

As Boone alluded to, Nevin has built his resume over the years. He got his first MLB coaching job with the Giants in 2017. He also has experience managing the Tigers and Diamondbacks minor league systems, as well as the Indy ball.

Now, Nevin is the first No. 1 overall pick in baseball history to be named MLB manager. Drafted by Houston in 1992 – the same year the Yankees took Derek Jeter sixth overall – Nevin enjoyed a 12-year big league career with the Astros, Tigers, Angels, Padres, Rangers, Cubs and Twins from 1995 to 2006.

Nevin wasn’t the only former Yankees coach to recently become a first-time coach. Longtime Yankees staffer Rob Thomson was named interim Phillies captain last week after Philadelphia fired Joe Girardi.

Girardi, of course, led the Yankees from 2008 to 2017. He won the World Series with New York in 2009, in addition to three championships with the club as a player.

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