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Veteran coach Steve Merriman joins Texas Tech baseball staff
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- Veteran coach Steve Merriman joins Texas Tech baseball staff
Steve Merriman, a former staff member with six Major League organizations and a pitching coach for three stints with Michigan, has been named director of pitching development for the Texas Tech baseball program.
Tech made the announcement on Thursday, July 31. The move came a month after Tech hired former Colorado Rockies pitching coach Steve Foster to the same position with the Red Raiders .
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"As our staff has come together this summer," Tadlock said in Tech's announcement, "it was very evident that we needed to look at having someone in the pitching development role, and we are very fortunate to be able to bring one of the best minds in baseball to our program."
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Merriman, 58, has spent the past three seasons in the Tampa Bay Rays organization as the pitching coach at High-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery.
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"I am humbled and honored to have this opportunity to be a part of this coaching staff and to be part of a very tradition-rich baseball program," Merriman said. "I've had a couple of Texas Tech players over my coaching career, and anytime I talked to them about coach Tadlock and the program, it was always extremely positive. It was evident that their time at Tech was a meaningful time in their impressionable lives. I'm just humbled and honored to have the opportunity to be a part of that and to be a member of the family."
During the 2024 season, Merriman helped the Montgomery Biscuits go 80-57 and advance to the Southern League championship series.
Merriman was the Michigan Wolverines' hitting coach in 1995 and their pitching coach from 2001-02, from 2011-12 and again from 2021-22. His former Wolverines pitchers include 21-year Major League veteran Rich Hill .
Texas Tech's head baseball coach Tim Tadlock walks to the dugout after a pitching change against Stephen F. Austin in a non-conference baseball game, Tuesday, March 26, 2024, at Rip Griffin Park.
Merriman spent the 2019-21 seasons with the Colorado Rockies organization, where he served as the Rockies' pitching coordinator and assisted with pitching analytics, technology implementation and program development. While with the Rockies, Merriman worked closely with Foster.
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"I've known Steve for a long time," Merriman said. "We've worked together at several different levels, including the big-league level. Getting to work with him again is like being rejoined with a brother. That also is a major factor, the ability to be a part of Steve and coach Tadlock's vision."
Merriman's also been pitching coach at the University of Toledo (1995-96), a bullpen catcher for the Detroit Tigers (1996-99) and head coach at Macomb Community College (1999-01). He's also worked with pitchers for the New York Mets (2004-06), Arizona Diamondbacks (2006-09), Kansas City Royals (2012-14) and Chicago Cubs (2017-18), as well as working with the MLB Scouting Bureau (2009-11).
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Veteran coach Steve Merriman joins Texas Tech baseball staff
