Despite uncertain future, Cubs manager Joe Maddon embraces 2019: 'Loving every freaking second of it'

PHOENIX — Joe Maddon may be 65 going on 45 and cooler than plenty of players at least half his age – but he’s still the old guy in a young man’s game.

He has accomplished more in four years and one month on the job as manager of the Chicago Cubs than any of his predecessors over the past century. He has won a World Series, two division titles and four consecutive playoff berths, winning his 400th game with one franchise quicker than all but two Cubs managers, and anyone since Hall of Famer Joe Torre began his dynasty with the New York Yankees.

Now, with his five-year, $28 million contract expiring at the end of the season, and many of his peers forced out of the game, Maddon could be the last man standing.

Maddon looks around and sees that Mike Scioscia, his old boss with the Los Angeles Angels , is out of work and trying to get back. Bruce Bochy, who led the San Francisco Giants to three World Series in five years, announced that he is managing his final season. Dusty Baker, after winning back-to-back division titles with the Washington Nationals, likely has managed his last game. Joe Girardi, who led the New York Yankees to within one game of the World Series two years ago, hasn’t managed a game since his dismissal. Neither has John Farrell, who led the Boston Red Sox to the 2013 World Series title.

“I definitely would love to come back,’’ Maddon says. “I love it here. That hasn’t changed one bit.’’

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If Maddon had his druthers, this wouldn’t even be a topic of conversation. He would have signed a multi-year contract extension last summer, at least in the off-season. Yet, there have been no contract talks. Nothing has even started. Everything is on hold until the end of the year.

“I’m not going to let it bother me,’’ Maddon says, “I’m just not. No one’s ego is getting bruised.’’

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Maddon’s fate may rest squarely on the Cubs’ success, and as the calendar is about to flip to May, no one has any idea just how this will play out all summer, least of all Maddon.

Will Maddon be replaced after the season by Mark DeRosa or David Ross, two former Cubs who are widely respected by the organization, or bench coach Mark Loretta?

Will Maddon be managing next year in the National League East, landing in one of the cities that misses the postseason, whether it’s the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies or Washington Nationals?

Will anyone dare pay him the $6 million he’s earning these days, who along with Bochy, is the highest-paid manager in the game?

“I’m not thinking about that, and honestly I don’t think he would want any of us to think like that, either,’’ says Cubs veteran Ben Zobrist, who has known Maddon since his 2006 rookie season with Tampa Bay. “If I know him well, I don’t think he is either. He’s always telling us, and promoting, 'Stay in the moment,’ to us, so I’d be surprised if he’s thinking about his job.

“But I will tell you he has changed.

“This year, it was all about us making adjustments. Well, that includes the manager. He had to make adjustments, too, and he has.’’

Says Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo: “Yeah, I definitely noticed it, too. He’s been much more proactive talking to guys, which we all love. It’s like he’s overstepping other areas of specialties. Really, it’s been good for us.

“I think we needed it.’’

Maddon has spent less time regaling stories with the media, and more time at the batting cage and talking to his players. The players wanted more insight, or at least notice with the constant lineup shuffle, and Maddon has provided it by informing his players the lineup an entire series in advance – yes, even before MLB lets their gambling sponsors know.

Maddon’s office door has always been open, but this year, he’s inviting players to step in for a chat.

“The players are the ones that wanted that, so he’s adapted to us,’’ Zobrist says. “Now, it feels like we have the freedom to speak our minds. He’s giving us a bit of a window why he’s making certain decisions. If you have a question, you feel free to go in and talk to him about it.

“He’s still making the final decision, but it’s a collaborative effort now. He listens. It shows a lot of courage.’’

Zobrist, to prove his point, walked into Maddon’s office late Saturday night knowing he was scheduled to start Sunday in left field instead of David Bote, who homered twice with five RBI in Saturday’s victory. Sure, he welcomed the opportunity to play, hitting just .217 without an extra-base hit at the time, but this made no sense to him.

“Frankly, there was a little tension in my competitive heart,’’ Zobrist says, “but it was the right thing to do. I would never ask anybody else to do that, but this was the right thing to do. It wasn’t a discussion. He just said gave me a fist pump, and said, “ ‘You’re a good man.’ ’’

So, naturally, guess who was the hero in their 6-5, 15-inning marathon Sunday over the Arizona Diamondbacks?

Zobrist, who entered the game in the 11th inning, hit a go-ahead two-run double in the 15th, and saved the game with a catch against the left-field wall to win the game.

Maddon, looked at the hieroglyphics that passed as his lineup card Sunday night before packing for Seattle, and shook his head. The game took 5 hours, 36 minutes. The Cubs were miserable at the plate in the clutch, going 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position, and left the bases loaded twice in extra innings. Still, they managed to survive, and are 14-12, 2 ½-games behind the St. Louis Cardinals, after a dreadful 1-6 start.

Games like this can make a manager feel old in a hurry, but the way Maddon has transformed, he's feeling like he's back in the instructional league. He has a spirit he hasn’t felt since becoming a major-league manager 14 years ago.

“I’m not kidding you man,’’ Maddon said, “I’m having a blast. I feel like I’m back in the minors, and I mean that with the utmost respect. I’m enjoying the [expletive] out of this.

“The situation I’m in right now is fascinating. I’m loving every freaking second of it. It’s kind of like a developmental process. You try new things. I cannot possibly have more fun managing.’’

Maddon, who says he delegated authority in the past to his coaches, now is hands-on as if he were back in his player-development days with the Angels in the mid-‘80s, back before most of his players were even born.

“I’ve always held back a little bit because I wanted to stay out of the coaches’ way,’’ Maddon says, “but I’m interfering more than I normally do. I’m absorbed in their instruction more than I have the last several years.

“The players wanted more feedback, so I’m giving them more of that. These guys seek that conversation. So I’m talking. I’m texting. I’m emailing. I’m like a pain in the butt right now.’’

The man who spent the winter reading the book, “Managing Millennials for Dummies,’’ has taken it to heart. You better adapt to the times, he learned, because this era of ballplayers isn’t going to adapt to you.

“The manager is going to be more required to be a liaison between the front office and the team,’’ Maddon said, “where in the past, the manager was omnipotent. Whether you like it or not, that’s the way it is. Where I’m at right now, I think I’m a combination of all of that. I’ve been open to change, willing to change, and growing.

“There’s a lot of room for creativity, an openness about the players I haven’t experienced in a while.’’

Kris Bryant, the 2016 MVP, who struggled last season, and hadn’t hit a homer since opening day until last weekend, says the constant conversation is appreciated. And, quite frankly, needed. It’s easy for everyone to chat when you’re hitting 39 homers and driving in 102 runs as he did in 2016. It’s quite another when you hit 13 homers in an injury-riddled season in 2018, and listen to talk shows debating whether the Cubs should entertain trade talks.

“Joe has been kind of a hands-off manager,’’ Bryant says, “but this has been good for me. It’s not like you’re searching for compliments, but it’s nice to hear the reassurance from him.’’

Really, it’s no different for Maddon. He provided the Cubs their first World Series in 108 years, but in this information era, the past is forgotten quicker than the Sunday newspaper comics. He enjoys positive reinforcement, too, with a reminder that he still is among the best in the business.

The Cubs, with a franchise-record $203 million payroll, certainly are built to win now. They may have their flaws, but they fully expect to be playing again in October. And if they’re back in the playoffs, is it enough to assure that Maddon is back. Or is it World Series-or-bust?

“Noise, that’s all it is,’’ Maddon said. “I don’t listen. I am enjoying this possibly more than I have ever enjoyed doing this.

“So, I’m not going to let any noise take away from that.

“I just won’t.’’