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MLB: Greg Maddux To Become Pitching Coach Maddux

By Benjamin Chase

Jul 27, 2014; Cooperstown, NY, USA; Hall of Fame inductee Greg Maddux makes his acceptance speech during the class of 2014 national baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at National Baseball Hall of Fame. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 27, 2014; Cooperstown, NY, USA; Hall of Fame inductee Greg Maddux makes his acceptance speech during the class of 2014 national baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at National Baseball Hall of Fame. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Will MLB Hall of Fame starter Greg Maddux be able to translate his knowledge of pitching to young hurlers at UNLV?

On Wednesday, Greg Maddux and the University of Nevada in Las Vegas both confirmed that Maddux will join the UNLV coaching staff as a volunteer pitching coach starting this coming fall. While that seems a coup for the Rebels baseball program, could it really be more curse than blessing?

Maddux is a Vegas native, having graduated from high school in the Vegas area in 1984. His son is a sophomore at UNLV, a pitcher, of course. His inclusion with the team makes sense for those reasons, though it is a departure from the front office work he’s been doing with the Cubs, Rangers, and Dodgers since 2010.

Maddux is arguably the greatest MLB pitcher of the modern era, with 355 wins and a run of dominance in the mid-90s that only Pedro Martinez could match, and Pedro had a LOT more natural stuff than Greg ever possessed. However, one of the comments made during his career was that Greg often struggled to interpret his craft.

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Many former players, especially the uber-elite, struggle when put into coaching positions. It’s said that Ted Williams, for all his brilliance as a player, simply could not understand why his players did not have the same skills and abilities that he had, and it made his time as a manager pure torture for him.

Maddux is reported to have his own language when it comes to pitching, and his teammates joke about how he talks about pitching in ways that make sense to no one but Maddux. That all said, Maddux’s brother, Mike Maddux, is one of the most well-renown pitching coaches in the entire game, so Maddux certainly comes from the genetics to be able to explain the game well.

Maddux is also well-regarded as a teammate, so the clubhouse for UNLV should be tremendously fun to be around. I would wager that at some point someone will put up this video to razz their newest pitching coach:

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Here is

John Smoltz

on the Dan Patrick radio show. Listen about 2 minutes in as he describes Maddux talking pitching with the guy whose locker was next to his in the clubhouse:

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