Nevin played several positions for the Padres at their old ballpark, Qualcomm Stadium, until 2003 and at Petco Park until 2005. In 2001, he earned his first All-Star Game selection.
“A lot of great memories for me,” the Angels’ manager said before his team’s series-opening 10-3 loss to his former club Monday night at Petco Park. “I made sure I drove down [Interstate]15 and cut across [Interstate]8 so I could see the old stadium. … A lot of memories driving down here today.”
Angels star Mike Trout exited with a left wrist injury after fouling off a pitch while leading off the eighth inning.
He immediately shook his arm. Nevin and a trainer came out to check on the superstar, and he left the field.
Nevin’s home is in San Diego, which makes the Angels’ three-game series with the Padres a personal homecoming.
He also made return visits to Petco Park as a third base coach for the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees.
But Nevin’s relationship with Towers, who died of cancer in 2018, and Towers’ influence on Nevin’s post-playing career is part of the reason why coming back to San Diego holds extra significance. Monday’s game was the first time Nevin returned as a big league manager.
Nevin was the Angels’ third base coach last season before he was promoted to interim manager after Joe Maddon’s firing in June. In October, the Angels made Nevin the permanent manager on a one-year contract.
The Angels fell to 45-42 with Monday’s loss but are in the hunt for an American League wild-card spot.
“He’s just somebody that I really admired as a friend, for one, but a lot of baseball advice,” Nevin said of Towers. “I got three big people in my life that didn’t get to see the day I took over. … KT would be at the top of that list.
“I’m sure I’ll look up at the box [in the stadium], like where I used to say, ‘Hey.’”
Nevin’s relationship with Towers during Nevin’s playing days has been described by some as volatile. But Nevin said he viewed it as brother-like, with their friendship growing after Nevin was traded during the 2005 season.
Towers’ Padres tenure ended in 2009, and he later became the Arizona Diamondbacks’ general manager.
Towers hired Nevin to manage the Diamondbacks’ triple-A affiliate, the Reno Aces, in 2014.
He also pushed for Nevin to become the Diamondbacks’ manager for the 2017 season — a job that went to present manager Torey Lovullo.
Nevin still vividly remembers the day Towers told him he was sick.
“I just remember him telling me: ‘I got dealt a tough hand. I gotta get a few cards off the bottom of the deck,’” Nevin recalled. “He fought and fought till the end.”
Nevin still thinks of Towers often.
“There’s a lot of decisions in life, whether baseball or not, I think about him,” he said. “[Former Padres manager Bruce Bochy] too. But I can pick up the phone and call Boch still. I said that last year when I took over, I wish I would’ve had the chance to talk to him.
“I know that [KT] would have been proud.”
Trout comes out with wrist injury
(Denis Poroy / Associated Press)
After Trout fouled off the pitch in the eighth, he made a face and shook his left hand before recoiling it behind his back and walking out of the batter’s box.
He left with Angels athletic trainer Mike Frostad. Mickey Moniak replaced him in the game.
“Waiting on getting some scans and hope for the best. I’m just praying for these results to come back clean. Doesn’t feel great,” Trout said after the game. “Hopefully just a sprained wrist. I can’t really describe the pain. I’ve never felt it before this. I’ve never had wrist problems or anything. Freak thing, I guess.”
The Angels went four for 16 with runners in scoring position and left 14 runners on base.
“We just didn’t get a big hit when we needed it,” Nevin said. “Game should have been a lot different.”
Padres starter Blake Snell kept the Angels scoreless through five innings, their bats finally able to break through once reliever Domingo Tapia took the mound.
The Angels scored twice in the sixth, on an RBI double by Taylor Ward and an RBI single by Trout, and then again in the seventh on Luis Rengifo’s solo homer.
Angels starter Jaime Barría gave up four earned runs on five hits over five innings. The majority of the damage came on a three-run home run by Xander Bogaerts in the first inning. But the game still was within reach after Barría came off the mound.
The Padres, however, continued to beat up on the Angels. Relievers Victor Mederos, Tucker Davidson and Sam Bachman all were charged with two earned runs apiece.
“We’ve talked all along about our depth and it’s been tested,” Nevin said. “We’ve lost some big pieces to this, just talked about having the next guy up. Same thing in this case. We give somebody another opportunity to get more looks, more at-bats depending on how Mike’s tests go. We’ll see how it goes.”