Rick Kranitz cultivated his reputation as a pitching coach the past two seasons by nurturing the young arms on the Florida Marlins' staff. He placed as much importance on learning about their personalities as he did their tendencies on the mound, got the most out of them and became a hot commodity when he resigned last month.
Kranitz will be given the same opportunities with the Orioles, whose appeal over at least two other teams enabled them to hire him yesterday as Leo Mazzone's replacement.
Terms weren't disclosed, but Kranitz is believed to have signed a one-year contract, keeping him in line with manager Dave Trembley and the other coaches.
"I've talked to Dave about a few of these guys and absolutely I'm looking forward to working with the younger players," Kranitz said. "I haven't really gotten into the videotape yet, but that's the first thing, looking at the backgrounds of kids, looking at their mechanics before I go any further. I know in this day and age, young pitching is extremely valuable and they have to learn at the big league level."
Kranitz, 49, was in demand this offseason. He interviewed in Seattle for the Mariners' vacant pitching coach job and received an offer to join manager Dusty Baker's new Cincinnati Reds staff in some capacity. He chose instead to be reunited with Trembley, team president Andy MacPhail and bullpen coach Alan Dunn, who worked with him in the Chicago Cubs organization.
"I'm absolutely thrilled to be on board. I know our styles work real good together," Kranitz said during a conference call with reporters. "I had a few calls, absolutely. When I talked to Dave a few days ago, it was such a comfortable feeling for me. I know we're going to be able to improve in Baltimore with this pitching staff.
"I wanted a nice working relationship, and this seemed to be the perfect fit for me. I feel like, in a sense, I'm coming home."
Kranitz, who spent 22 seasons with the Cubs as a coach or instructor, resigned from the Marlins in September after rejecting a $5,000 raise. He was believed to be the lowest-paid pitching coach in the majors, quite a contrast to the high-profile Mazzone, who was fired last week with a year remaining on his contract.
"What he brings to us is a level of expertise in mechanics, the ability to adapt to different styles of pitching and a real good communicator, which is something I think is going to be real important because I'd expect that we would basically have a very young pitching staff," Trembley said.
