Tony Reagins ran behind schedule Tuesday night and he had a good excuse.
Reagins, the general manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, arrived a half-hour late to The Cannery restaurant in Newport Beach.
The hostess told those waiting for the 41-year-old Reagins to arrive and speak at the Hot Stove League series that there was a death in the Angels family.
Preston Gomez, who spent more than a quarter of a century in various positions in the Angels organization, passed away Tuesday in Fullerton at age 85. Gomez died of complications from head injuries he sustained while being struck by a truck at a gas station parking lot last March.
Gomez served as special assistant to Reagins.
"The Angels family has lost one of its invaluable members," said Reagins of Gomez, who began his career playing for the Washington Senators in 1944, later became the second Latin American-born manager in Major League Baseball when he was named the San Diego Padres' first manager in 1969, and he also managed the Houston Astros (1974-75) and the Chicago Cubs (1980), and served as a scout and executive, spending 64 years in professional baseball.
"His influence and impact on so many throughout the industry is impossible to measure. Though he will be missed, Preston's legacy will forever remain a part of this organization."
This offseason, Reagins has dealt with some ups and downs after his first year as a general manager.
The Daily Pilot caught up with him Tuesday.
Question: Can you assess your first year as the general manager?
A: We had a positive year. Won 100 games, the first time in the history of the franchise. We didn't get to where we wanted to be and that was to win a world championship. But there was a lot of positives out of last year and we hope to build on that.
Q: What did you learn during your first year on the job?
A: What's really important is you can't wear [your emotions], you can't get too high, or you can't get too low. The season is a long season and different times of the year can get frustrating, but you have to be even keel to maintain a level head, make sound decisions and use the resources that you have available to you.
Q: How would you grade your first year?
A: I'll leave that for others to judge.
Q: You must pretty happy that the Angels were able to lock up Manager Mike Scioscia until 2015.
