Who wouldn't want to take over a baseball team that has gone to the World Series and two ALCS in the past three seasons? You can add Mike Maddux's name to that long list of people who would.
The Texas Rangers pitching coach since 2009, Maddux has helped assemble one of the best pitching staffs in the league in a place where pitchers used to go to die. Now, he's looking to land a managerial gig after being flirted with two years ago by the Chicago Cubs before he withdrew his name from consideration to be closer to his daughters, who were in school in the DFW area.
And why not the Tigers, who saw Jim Leyland resign after the Tigers bowed out to the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS?
"This team is built to win now," said Maddux, who would inherit one of the best starting rotations in baseball led by Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, while speaking to MLive.com. "I would try to put my own brand on it and just try to fill Jim Leyland's shoes — not that anyone will be able to fill his shoes."
Of course, Maddux realizes just because he has interest in the job doesn't mean anything, as the Tigers have yet to contact the Rangers for permission to speak with him.
"It's one thing to have interest. It's another to have them be interested," he said. "It's a two-way street."
Maddux's loss would be a blow to the Rangers, but it's bound to come sooner rather than later. It could be that Maddux is looking for the perfect situation, and there's no doubt the Tigers job would be just that.
