The Joe Maddon era has ended on the North Side of Chicago, and President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein is looking for a new man to take the reigns for the Cubbies. Maddon had great success in Chicago, making it to the NLCS in his first three years here, and winning a world series in 2016, his second year. That world series was the Cubs’ first since 1908. For those who don’t want to do the math, that’s 108 years. 

So it is safe to say that Maddon did a pretty good job here. On behalf of the Cubs, I’ll say, thank you Joe! You might be asking, “Well, if he was so good, then why did the Cubs let him go?” After a while, a manager’s voice starts to get stale in the locker room, and the players start to tune him out. This is not always the case, but it is seen as very common in many major sports. Maddon was with the Cubs for four years, and his last two years weren’t the best, losing in the wild card round one year, and not even making the playoffs this past year. 

It was time for Joe to go. It was a mutual parting, which is always a good thing. Both sides parted on good terms, and both Maddon and the Cubs were very happy with what was accomplished in Joe’s time in Chicago. Joe agreed with the Cubs that it was time for them both to move on.

Now the question is, who will be the next Cubs manager? It is way too early to say who looks like they will get the job, but the top three candidates right now are ex-World Series winning manager with the Yankees, Joe Girardi, 2019 Cubs bench coach Mark Loretta, and former MLB World Series winning catcher with the Cubs and the Red Sox, David Ross. 

Joe Girardi looks to be the best man for the job. He has tons of managing experience, he has won a World Series, and he won that World Series with one of the best teams in the 21st century. Girardi’s a winner. He is 988-794 in his career as a manager, and his winning percentage is .554. For those of you who don’t watch baseball, that’s pretty good. It’s well above average. I think Girardi is the man to bring the Cubs back on track.

I spoke to Mr. Banks about who he thought was the best person for the job, and he agreed that Joe Girardi should be the next Cubs manager. Mr. Banks thought Girardi was the best man for the job because he knows what it takes to win, as he won a World Series with the Yankees, and he knows how to manage a ball club that has high expectations. The Cubs are one of those teams, as were the Yankees.

 This will be an interesting offseason. Good luck to all of the candidates. Whoever gets the job, hopefully, they can bring our Cubs back to the World Series in no time.