When the Los Angeles Angels decided to perform housecleaning within their scouting department, they fired one of the most respected members of the scouting fraternity in all of baseball. Today, that man has a new job.
Eddie Bane, who was dismissed by the Los Angeles Angels on Sept. 30, was hired today by the Detroit Tigers and will join their pro scouting department.
The housecleaning of the scouting department by the Los Angeles Angels not only included Bane, but three regional scouts as well.
Bane's firing by the Angels was immediately called into question, with many media publications speculating whether or not there was a rift that developed between Bane and Angels GM Tony Reagins.
In Bane's tenure as scouting director for the Los Angeles Angels, Jered Weaver, Nick Adenhart, Jordan Walden, Michael Kohn, Mark Trumbo and Hank Conger were all drafted as a result of Bane's recommendations, and the signing of 1B Kendry Morales was his responsibility as well.
Bane's overall philosophy with the Angels was to draft and sign the best players available, and no one can argue that he didn't accomplish that.
At no time during Bane's tenure with the Angels did he have a higher pick than No. 12 in the first round, and in three separate years, he had no first-round selection at all.
The Arizona Diamondbacks thought so highly of the Angels pitching prospects that they offered Dan Haren in exchange for those prospects, and the Kansas City Royals thought the same when they traded Alberto Callaspo to the Halos.
Doesn't sound like a man who wasn't drafting properly to me.
When interviewed by the Orange County Register back on Sept. 30 about Bane's dismissal, Reagins said that philosophy had nothing to do with the dismissal and called it a business decision.
"There was definitely no personality conflict," Reagins said. "I have great respect for Eddie and what he's done in this organization. But you have to make difficult decisions in this business sometimes."
Difficult decisions? Yes, but the decisions should also be smart ones. This one doesn't qualify. And the Detroit Tigers will be big beneficiaries as a result.
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