Kurt Suzuki filled with emotions and relying heavily on coaching staff, ahead of season debut
Feb 21, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Angels manager Kurt Suzuki against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images LOS ANGELES — As Kurt Suzuki and the Los Angeles Angels narrow down the final days of Spring Training, the first-year manager is filled with emotions ahead of making his MLB debut as a manager.
For Suzuki, those emotions were narrowed down to two. Excitement and anxiousness. Suzuki understands the long grind of playing in an MLB season, as he is a former 16-year catcher who was an All-Star in 2014 and was part of a Washington Nationals team that won a World Series in 2019.
But now, he is faced with a new challenge and opportunity. Being a first-time manager. "I said this when I was a player.
'Whether you're in year one, five, or 15, that opening day, that start to the season, you definitely have a little bit of anxiety going into the game, not knowing the thought of the unknown," Suzuki said. After Suzuki played his final game in 2022, while wearing an Angels uniform, he made the transition from the field to the Angels front office, serving as a special assistant to general manager Perry Minasian. This past October, it was announced that Suzuki would be returning to the dugout, this time as a manager after the Angels hired him to be the club's 24th manager in franchise history.
On Thursday, he will officially begin this new journey as a manager in the big leagues when the Angels open their season on the road against the Houston Astros. Despite having zero managerial experience, Suzuki's been described as a "Natural" by Angels bench Coach John Gibbons. Gibbons is a long-time coach and two-time former manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, serving from 2002 to 2004 and again from 2013 to 2018.