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Cleveland Guardians add 2-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber to coaching staff
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- Cleveland Guardians add 2-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber to coaching staff
CLEVELAND — The Guardians added a two-time Cy Young arm to their bullpen Wednesday, May 14.
Sort of.
Former Guardians great Corey Kluber was named special assistant to pitching and will be on hand to help Cleveland wherever needed.
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Kluber retired as a pitcher a year ago and didn't want to rush into a new role in baseball in 2024.
"I purposely didn't really seek anything out last year," Kluber said May 13. "I think that first year not playing and stuff, I wanted to kind of see where I was at mentally, see what kind of felt right I guess.
"I think that as the year went on last year, as the season went on last year, I didn't watch a lot of baseball, but I found myself still keeping up with guys that I knew or teams I played on and things like that. I think honestly it got to the point where I was like, I feel like I needed something to do, something to work towards, something to feel a sense of accomplishment."
How did Corey Kluber come back to the Cleveland Guardians ?
Kluber was a spring training observer with the Guardians earlier this year, and that's likely where the bug hit.
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Kluber and Guardians president of baseball operations Chirs Antonetti had further discussions on the best way to utilize him.
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Former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber talks to the media, May 13, 2025, in Cleveland.
It's still a work in process, but Kluber was on hand May 13 to get used to his new role with the team.
"A lot of it is kind of building relationships and me getting to know them," Kluber said. "Me trying to learn about the guys, whether it be how they pitch, whether it be how they tick mentally, things like that."
Former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber talks to the media, May 13, 2025, in Cleveland.
How does manager Stephen Vogt think Corey Kluber can help
It's a welcome sight for manager Stephen Vogt.
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Along with his Cy Young awards , Kluber was a three-time all-star and led the American League in wins twice (2014, 2017) and ERA once (2017).
He pitched a no-hitter for the New York Yankees on May 19, 2021, and went 116-77 with a 3.44 ERA and 1,725 career strikeouts in stints with Cleveland, Texas , New York, Tampa Bay and Boston .
"It's great to have Corey Kluber working with us and working with our starters and talking with them about mindset and executing," Vogt said. "Who better to have than Corey Kluber to be an influence on your starting pitching especially, but your pitchers in general and just another voice for our pitching team to just bounce ideas off of? He has such a great cerebral mind of what it takes to be a starting pitcher."
Former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber talks to the media, May 13, 2025, in Cleveland.
Where else is Corey Kluber valued in the Guardians organization
As the year plays out, that role could include working some with minor leaguers.
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For now, Kluber is happy being reunited with pitching coach Carl Willis and helping the Guardians.
" I think just having a lot of different types of experiences to build on, hopefully presents opportunities to help guys with a lot of different things," Kluber said. "I had Carl as a pitching coach. I didn't appreciate pitching coaches as a player, but I didn't appreciate what all went into being a pitching coach as a player. You see the time aspect of it, how much time they spend at the field.
"But I think that kind of the art of coaching, of gathering all the information, kind of sorting through what is and isn't [and] holding each guy accountable, how to present it to a player, when to present it to a player, all that stuff. There's a lot that goes into it. It's definitely a skill. I don't think that you just throw anybody into that role and expect them to do a good job.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Corey Kluber joins Guardians coaches as special assistant to pitching
