Maddux to join Cubs front office as Hendry assistant

The way general manager Jim Hendry sees it, the Cubs are better already.

Hendry on Monday named future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux as an assistant to the GM. Maddux, who pitched two stints for the Cubs, will work with the major-league and minor-league coaching staffs in spring training and will assist "in the development of Cubs minor-leaguers during the regular season" as well as assist Hendry in talent evaluation.

"We couldn't be happier," Hendry said. "He'll certainly be involved in all aspects of the baseball operations department. As I've always said about him in the past as a player and now as an employee, when Greg Maddux walks in your front door, your organization became a lot better that day."

Maddux, who piled up 355 lifetime victories, 133 with the Cubs, joined Hendry on a conference call and said he was ready to get back into the game after one year of retirement as a player.

"I'm just happy to be back in Chicago," he said. "I've always loved the organization. I've loved the city, loved Wrigley Field, and I was lucky enough to play for Jim for three years awhile ago, and I'm looking forward to getting back with him and working with him and learning from him and the people around him and doing what I can to help the players on the field and the organization."

Maddux, 43, pitched for the Cubs from 1986-92. He left via free agency after '92 for Atlanta, but Hendry signed him as a free agent just before spring training in 2004.

During the 2004 season, Maddux notched his 300th career victory. The Cubs traded him to the Dodgers during the 2006 season, and he spent time with the Dodgers twice and the Padres before retiring after the 2008 season.

His brother, Mike, has won acclaim as a pitching coach with the Brewers and Rangers. Greg, who was approached by Hendry for the job, says it'll take a little time to learn the other side of the business. However, he was always considered a "second pitching coach" on the teams for which he played.

"I think both parts of the game, to be honest with you," he said of coaching and administration. "This is something new for me. I was lucky enough to play for a while, and I had a lot of very good coaches over the years. If there are things that I was taught by my coaches that I can pass down to the players today, then that's what I'm going to try to do.

"I'll learn how to evaluate players the best I can. I'm sure there's a system that goes along with that. Hopefully, I'll have an eye for it, and I'll be able to evaluate players properly."

Maddux added that this job "could be" a steppingstone to a further career in baseball but that he had no immediate aspirations to manage.

"I'm going to do what I can to learn how both sides of the game work this year and then kind of make decisions after that," he said.

He also said he has talked with his brother about coaching.

"I did talk to him a lot," Maddux said. "He was out for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we talked baseball all the time. He said it was a good opportunity and a way to get back in the game and kind of see what the other side is like.

"My brother's always been a few years ahead of me in the advice department, so he's always nice to lean on."