Rangers Hire Greg Maddux as Special Assistant
Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux will serve as a special instructor for the Texas Rangers during Spring Training, manager Bruce Bochy and general manager Chris Young said.
Bochy and Young unveiled the new hire during his first press conference in Surprise, Ariz. The first workout for pitcher and catchers will be Wednesday.
Maddux brings significant bona fides with him to Spring Training. Not only is he one of baseball’s few 300-game winners, he’s a former Cy Young winner with a Major League-record 18 Gold Gloves. He is considered one of the best fielding pitchers in baseball history.
He is also the brother of pitching coach Mike Maddux, who was the Rangers pitching coach from 2009-15.
This isn’t the first time that Greg Maddux has served as a special assistant with the Rangers. He did the same thing in 2012.
There’s another tie between Greg Maddux and the Rangers. Young and Maddux were teammates and in San Diego in 2007-08.
“Certainly a Hall of Fame pedigree, one of my favorite teammates of all time and one of the best fielding pitchers of all time,” Young said. “One of my favorite things about Greg was just his ability to take complex situations and simplify, and he’s one of the best I’ve ever been around in terms of that.”
Maddux will likely assist his brother with the pitching staff, both prospects and the stable of veterans the Rangers have assembled for this season — Jacob deGrom, Jon Gray, Martín Pérez, Andrew Heaney, Jake Odorizzi and Nathan Eovaldi.
Position players report to Surprise on Monday. The Rangers play their first Spring Training game against Kansas City on Feb. 24.
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