Tigers name Mike Maroth pitching coach for Advanced-A Lakeland

by Kurt Mensching on Sep 26, 2011 12:39 PM EDT in Detroit Tigers News

Mike Maroth saw some of the worst times for the Tigers. Like a tragic actor, he was denied some of the best times for the Tigers when he was injured in the 2006 season and left to watch the playoffs as a fan. Sadly, his major league career ended a year later, coincidentally enough playing for the Cardinals. He kept trying to work through shoulder injuries, but could not make it past Triple-A before retiring following the 2010 season.

With Maroth's career as a player now over, he's about to begin a second life in the Tigers organization as the pitching coach for the Advanced-A Lakeland Flying Tigers. Detroit made that announcement this afternoon.

Maroth became infamous in 2003 as one of the most public faces of the organization's failure when he lost 21 games. In doing so, the left-hander became the first play in 23 years, and the first Tiger in 29 years, to lose at least 20 games in a season. He finished 9-21 with a 5.73 ERA. (By the way, Mickey Lolich lost 21 in 1974 for Detroit.)

As the Tigers began a slow rebirth in the following years, Maroth did too. By 2006, he had started the season with three consecutive wins. He pushed his record to 5-2 before hitting the disabled list with bone chips in his elbow that required surgery to be removed. He made it back to the club in September, but did not show enough to be added to the postseason roster.

Maroth was usually seen as one of the nice guys in baseball, so it was sad to see his career end the way it did.

Hope he finds success in his second opportunity and makes it back to the Bigs some day.

By the way, Maroth has a web site. Here are a few choice facts he shares about himself:

* I wanted to be a weatherman if baseball didn't work out!

* I am scared of heights, but I love roller coasters!

* I have a collection of over 50,000 baseball cards going back to the early 1980's when I started collecting as a kid.

* I make a killer Grilled Cheese sandwich!

You gotta like this guy.

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real classy move

I hope he makes it back to the big league one day as a Pitching/Bullpen coach

by davewilliamt on Sep 26, 2011 12:43 PM EDT reply actions

Or a third base coach

For the Tigers……..tommorrow.

"i think it will be mostly feast the rest of the year,"

by Honeyman on Sep 26, 2011 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs

good news for a great guy

However that being said, I’m calling the cops if Gary Knotts or Nate Cornejo come anywhere near a Tigers farm team dugout

"I'm a simple man. I like pretty, dark-haired women and breakfast food" - Ron Swanson
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by rock n rye on Sep 26, 2011 12:55 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

Can he teach Andy Oliver command?

"You, on the other hand, make Eeyore look like Rainbow Brite." -johnmoz

Contributor, Bless You Boys

by David Tokarz on Sep 26, 2011 12:57 PM EDT reply actions

I also make a killer grilled cheese sandwich.

we are the same, Mike Maroth and I.

by lesmanalim on Sep 26, 2011 1:07 PM EDT reply actions

Now I can't stop thinking about a grilled cheese sandwhich

thanks

by Keith-Allen on Sep 26, 2011 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Huh. Well, good luck to MM, always seemed like a great guy.

by rcpratt on Sep 26, 2011 1:11 PM EDT reply actions

Looks like the Orlando native

Gets to stay close to home. Good for him.

by H2OPoloPunk on Sep 26, 2011 1:33 PM EDT reply actions

That's what I was thinking

He’s not going out of his way to take this job. It’s right in his own backyard.

by Keith-Allen on Sep 26, 2011 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Cool guy, I see we BOTH like rollercoasters :D

by Boeschlander on Sep 26, 2011 2:24 PM EDT reply actions

Great move by the Tigers

I remember so well when Bonderman was protected from being a 20 game loser (and it was THE right decision) yet Mike Maroth went out there everyday and took his licks. I also remember that for two months in 2006 he was a terrific pitcher. I hated that Leyland dumped him from the Playoff and World Series Roster. I don’t remember which pitcher or position player they kept, but Maroth had earned a chance to be a part of it……..kinda like Brad Penny only a lot more history.

by Jim Bunn on Sep 26, 2011 3:14 PM EDT reply actions

What nice news!

I have to agree with everyone here. Maroth always seemed like a good teammate and a hard worker. It seems as though the Tigers have put the Dark Days behind them, but it’s a good thing to remember some of the members of those teams. (Higginson = yes. Damion Easley and the eleventy trillion dollars he took with him = no.)

by nokesfan on Sep 26, 2011 4:00 PM EDT reply actions

Sweet!

I was a huge Maroth fan! He was my favorite Tigers pitcher when I was younger (well, I’m still young, but when I was like in middle school), along with Steve Sparks. So needless to say, when my older brother told me this news, I was thrilled.

nokesfan: I also loved Bobby! When everybody was upset about Higgy making the roster instead of Marcus Thames that one year, I was happy, lol. A few others I liked were Dean Palmer, Randall Simon, and of course, the original DY!

by tmyers09 on Sep 26, 2011 4:40 PM EDT reply actions

Mike Maroth was one of my favorites.

He dealt with the losing and didn’t let it crush him like a true pro. Glad to see him starting a new phase of his baseball career and I wish him all the success in the world. :)

Random nonsense at @Baroque97

"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)

by Baroque on Sep 26, 2011 6:17 PM EDT reply actions

Agreed...he lost with class

I remember listening to the first game in 2003 on the radio. Maroth was on the mound and gave up 2R on 5H and 0BB in 7IP. Our 2003 Tigers couldn’t get anything going off Brad Radke and we ended up losing the first of 119 by a score of 3-1. Maroth had a lot of tough-luck losses that year but kept the team in the game most of the time, despite topping out at about 88MPH.

The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981

by momotigers on Sep 27, 2011 4:58 AM EDT up reply actions

Cool. I always liked him.

I like this hire about as much as I can like any hire of someone new to coaching. The guy might not have had the best natural stuff or truly elite control but he knew enough about keeping batters off balance to stick around in the majors for 900 innings.

by thepartybird on Sep 27, 2011 12:26 AM EDT reply actions