The Orioles announced today that pitching coach Mark Connor has resigned for personal reasons. Bullpen coach Rick Adair will take over as the pitching coach and our old friend Terry Crowley will serve as interim bullpen coach. These changes will be effective starting with tonight’s game in Toronto against the Blue Jays.
From the press release:
Adair, 53, joined the Orioles’ staff this season after working the past two seasons as pitching coach with the Seattle Mariners. He oversaw the turnaround of the Mariners’ staff from a 4.73 ERA in 2008 (11th in the AL) to a league-best 3.87 ERA in 2009. Adair has spent over seven full seasons as a major league pitching coach – two with Seattle (2009-10), two with Cleveland (1992-93) and three with Detroit (Sept. 1996-99). Prior to his two years in Seattle, Adair spent four years as the Texas Rangers’ minor league pitching coordinator, a position he also held in the Atlanta Braves organization from 2000-2003. He has also served as a minor league pitching coach in three different minor league seasons (1994, 1995 and 2004), all at the Double-A level or higher. At the conclusion of his playing career, Adair spent the next six years (1986-1991) as the Indians’ minor league pitching coordinator.
Connor, 61, was in his first season as Orioles’ pitching coach and his 36th season in professional baseball after serving the last two years as a special assistant in the player development department of the Texas Rangers.
From Roch Kubatko at MASN's website:
The Orioles didn't know that Connor intended to resign until yesterday, which had them scrambling for a replacement for Adair as he moved into the role of pitching coach.
"We've been fortunate in that we felt like we had dual pitching coaches from the get-go," said president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail. "Both have extensive backgrounds in that area, and Rick is familiar with our young pitchers. We're sorry to lose Mark, but fortunate that we have someone like Rick available to us."