BOSTON (AP) – Anaheim Angels coach Joe Maddon interviewed to be Boston’s manager on Wednesday, meeting with Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein at the GM meetings in Phoenix.

“You’re talking about one of the most desirable, fascinating franchises in professional sports,” Maddon said on a conference call with Boston reporters. “People keep asking, when am I going to be a major league manager, and I say, ‘Well, when someone asks.’ Why the Red Sox? Because they asked, and it’s a tremendous opportunity.”

Maddon, 49, is the third candidate to interview for the job that opened when Grady Little was let go. Los Angeles Dodgers coach Glenn Hoffman and former Philadelphia Phillies manager Terry Francona have already spoken to Boston management.

No other interviews have been lined up, Red Sox spokesman Kevin Shea said.

Maddon is a former minor-league catcher who spent 29 years in the Angels organization, the last 10 with the major league staff. He was 33-26 in three stints as Anaheim’s interim manager, the longest for 29 games after Terry Collins resigned in 1999.

He also took charge of the Angles when manager and former Red Sox skipper John McNamara had a blood clot in his leg and missed 22 games in 1996.

Maddon has also worked as the Angels first base coach, director of player development, minor league field coordinator, roving hitting instructor, coordinator of Arizona League and manager of the team’s Double-A and Single-A minor league teams.

Maddon’s candidacy is bolstered by his long-held affinity for computers. He is also known as an extremely well-prepared and well-organized coach.

“I’ve always been an organization freak. When the computer came along, I saw it as a better way to organize my stuff,” he said. “It was a very, very useful tool. It just evolved from that.”

But Maddon also said the information he stores on his computer is not a substitute for the other skills a manager needs, like handling the personalities in the clubhouse.

“We’re just trying to get an edge,” he said. “The stuff you get of the box is great. It’s cool. … Once you get it, once you dispense it, you have to determine who can handle what.”

AP-ES-11-12-03 2201EST