A major league team in Anaheim was imploding, its dysfunction leading to the departures of the manager and general manager. A triple-A skipper in Albuquerque was reeling, the betrayal of his bosses shattering his hopes of remaining with the organization he grew up in.
The turbulence that jarred the Angels in the summer of 1999 was unrelated to the turmoil that shook then-Dodgers minor league manager Mike Scioscia, but the combination sparked a string of events that changed the course of history for one — possibly two —Southern California baseball franchises.
Scioscia, the hard-nosed catcher who helped the Dodgers win the 1981 and 1988 World Series and was being groomed as their next manager, quit on Sept.