Texas Rangers hire Mike Maddux as pitching coach, move Andy Hawkins to bullpen coach

by PegNews wire

ARLINGTON — Mike Maddux was named the Texas Rangers pitching coach on Monday to replace Andy Hawkins, who was named bullpen coach after serving as the club's interim pitching coach the last two months of the season. Maddux pitched 15 seasons in the Majors and was the Brewers' pitching coach from 2003-08, will hopefully lead a pitching staff that finished last in the Major Leagues in ERA in 2008.

Maddux, 47, helped turn around the Brewers pitching staff in his six years with the club as Milwaukee finished last season with the second-best ERA in the National League. The Brewers' 3.87 ERA in 2008 was the lowest figure by a Milwaukee club in 16 years, since a 3.43 ERA in 1992.

Maddux, the older brother of 300-game winner Greg Maddux, also has plenty of pitching experience as he was 39-37 with a 4.05 ERA in 472 games in the Majors. He retired from action in 2000 and got his start as a pitching coach with the Double-A Round Rock Express in 2000-02. The Express is a Minor League team owned by Rangers president Nolan Ryan.

Maddux will have plenty of work to do after the Rangers posted a 5.37 ERA, and Texas hasn't finished in the top five in ERA in the American League since 2004. Maddux has experience improving a pitching staff, as the Brewers had the second-worst ERA in the NL in 2002 -- the year before he took over. Since, then Milwaukee has compiled ERAs below 4.00 in two of the past four seasons.

Source: Texas Rangers