Hall of Fame pitcher, and Chicago Cub favorite, Greg Maddux rejoined the Cubs organization earlier this year as a special assistant to general manager Jim Hendry. He toured the minors, and met with young pitchers in Chicago from time to time. In general, his presence was regarded as helpful, and not just a show.
But he may soon be leaving the Cubs for a more formal role with the Arizona Diamondbacks – specifically, new D-backs GM Kevin Towers wants to bring Maddux on board as the team’s pitching coach.
Now that Towers has joined the Diamondbacks, he tells USA TODAY he hopes to bring a future Hall of Famer with him. Towers said plans to talk to four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux about joining the team next year as a bench or pitching coach. “I told Greg two years ago as soon as you want to be on the field please make me the first call,” Towers said. Maddux has an informal pact with the Chicago Cubs as a special assistant to general manager Jim Hendry. Maddux retired after the 2008 season — making him eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame in 2014 — and joined the Cubs earlier this year. USATODAY.com.
Obviously it’s wonderful to have Maddux in the organization, but no one could say a untoward word if he left for a pitching coach gig. What they could say, however, is why not become the pitching coach with the Cubs? I suppose there are two reasonable answers to that question: 1.) Larry Rothschild has been successful as the Cubs’ pitching coach for quite a while now, surviving one managerial change, and 2.) if Rothschild doesn’t survive another managerial change, the new manager may want to bring his own choice on board, rather than be stuck with the organization’s choice (he’ll already be stuck with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo).
He’s stated publicly that he doesn’t want to coach .
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