Former three-time All-Star pitcher Jon Matlack, who spent 13 seasons in the major leagues with the New York Mets (1971-77) and Texas Rangers (1978-1983), was hired on Monday afternoon as the Houston Astros' new minor league pitching coordinator.
Astros director of player development Fred Nelson made the announcement.
The 61-year-old Matlack, who won the NL Rookie of the Year in 1972, served as the minor league pitching coordinator for the Detroit Tigers (1997-2011) prior to accepting the same position in Houston.
He was the Tigers' pitching coach in 1996 under the guidance of manager Buddy Bell and worked alongside former Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who held the position as third-base coach.
Matlack played a role in developing Jose Lima, Brian Moehler, C.J. Nitkowski and Bob Scanlan -- all of whom spent time with the Astros.
The former southpaw spent eight seasons (1988-1995) as a minor league pitching coach in the White Sox and Padres systems.
"We are fortunate to land someone of Jon's caliber," Nelson said in a statement Monday. "His knowledge and experience as a coordinator was very impressive to us. We look forward to his leadership and fresh ideas as he oversees our minor league pitching program."
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