Jack Maloof

Jack Garth Maloof

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 175 lb.
• School La Verne College

• Born October 12, 1949 in Redlands, CA USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Jack Maloof was a 8-year player in the minor leagues, hitting .300 or better five times. He then played a year in Japan before becoming a coach and manager in the minors and a coach in the majors. He led his league four times in walks, three times in OBP and once in average.

In college, Maloof was a two-sport star, as a wide receiver in football and outfielder in baseball. Maloof hit .335 in 1970 to earn NAIA Honorable Mention while setting a La Verne record with 89 hits. In 1971, he batted .367 and was a NAIA District All-American.

Jack was chosen in the 27th round of the 1971 amateur draft by the Minnesota Twins. Assigned to the Auburn Twins, he batted .402/~.508/.453, stole 14 bases in 16 tries and scored 57 runs in 68 games. He fielded .986, one point shy of the lead for a New York-Penn League outfielder and also ranked second with 141 putouts, trailing Tony Scott. Maloof easily won the batting title, 57 points over Mike Cubbage and also led in runs, hits and OBP. His 52 walks were five shy of leader Robert Flanders. He was a clear-cut All-Star selection. In 1999, Matt Watson failed to become the league's first .400 hitter since Maloof.

Maloof hit .308/~.417/.382 for the 1972 Lynchburg Twins. He led the Carolina League in walks (86) and was third in average and runs (82). Only Dave Parker and Ed Ott scored more. He fielded .993 at first base and .979 in the outfield; either would have led the Carolina League players at those positions had he qualified.

In 1973, Maloof was a 1B/OF once more, now with the AA Orlando Twins. He hit .278/~.380/.326 and stole 22 bases in 32 tries while drawing 71 walks. The next year, he was back in Orlando and fielded .992 at both outfield (he would have led the league had he qualified) and first base. He produced at a .300/~.440/.361 clip. He finished third in the Southern League in average behind Nyls Nyman and Kim Andrew, led the league in walks and led in OBP. He tied four others for the lead with 8 sacrifice flies. He scored 79 runs, second to Nyman. Maloof was not named to the All-Star team in the SL that year.

In 1975, Jack was inexplicably returned to Orlando. Still only 25, he was a moderate prospect. He hit .317/~.463/.364. He finished second in the SL in average behind Charles Heil. He led in walks (105) and OBP. Now a full-time first baseman, he was left off of the All-Star team in favor of Mike Squires.

Maloof made it to AAA in 1976 but the outlook was bleak - Rod Carew was playing first in Minnesota and Maloof had to split time at first for the Tacoma Twins with Randy Bass, a top slugging prospect. Jack hit .281/~.435/.355 as a 1B/DH with 94 runs, 15 steals and 116 walks to just 51 strikeouts. He led the Pacific Coast League in walks and was among the leaders in OBP.

Maloof was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Art DeFilippis on March 28, 1977. He fielded .991 in the outfield, but again was short of enough games to qualify for the fielding title there. He hit .253/~.398/.318 in 107 games as a part-time player for the Indianapolis Indians, either being used as a pinch-hitter or platooning often.

In 1978, Maloof moved to the San Diego Padres organization with the Hawaii Islanders and batted .310/~.434/.405. He scored 93 runs, stole 25 bases in 30 tries and drew 104 walks. He was second to Bill Sample in walks. He again was not called up to the majors.

Maloof went to Japan in 1979, joining Tony Muser as the new American hitters for the Seibu Lions. Muser did not last long, but Maloof hit a solid .290/.358/.414, surprisingly only drawing 52 walks. He led the Pacific League with 503 at-bats.

Maloof then became a minor league manager with the Reno Silver Sox (1980-1981), Reno Padres (1982), Beaumont Golden Gators (1983), Spokane Indians (1984-1985), and AZL Rockies (1995).

Maloof was a roving minor league hitting instructor for the Padres for most of 1986-1990. He coached for the 1990 Padres, finally getting to wear a major league uniform. He was a coach for the Wichita Wranglers in 1991.

He was the hitting coach for the Florida Marlins from 1999 through 2001 before returning to the minors to coach the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in 2002-2004.

In 2003, Maloof was honored at the University of La Verne Athletics Hall of Fame.

Maloof's book "Hit Like a Big Leaguer" was published in 2006, with endorsements from Ozzie Guillen, John Kruk and Roberto Alomar, whom Maloof had worked with in the Padres system. Tony Gwynn, another Maloof disciple, wrote the foreword.

In 2007, he was a roving minor league hitting instructor for the Atlanta Braves. In 2008-2011, Maloof held the title of Special Assistant to Player Development for the Kansas City Royals. In 2013, he was named the team's big league hitting coach, but that assignment only lasted until May 30th; that day, with the Royals struggling badly at the plate, he was reassigned to the minor leagues alongside assistant hitting coach Andre David while team legend George Brett was named to take over for him on an interim basis, and Pedro Grifol was brought up from the minor league operations to be Brett's assistant.

Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
1980	Reno Silver Sox	California League	75-66	2nd (t)	San Diego Padres
1981	Reno Silver Sox	California League	81-58	2nd	San Diego Padres	Lost in 1st round
1982	Reno Padres	California League	70-68	4th	San Diego Padres
1983	Beaumont Golden Gators	Texas League	68-68	5th	San Diego Padres	League Champs
1984	Spokane Indians	Northwest League	35-39	6th (t)	San Diego Padres
1985	Spokane Indians	Northwest League	33-41	6th (t)	San Diego Padres
1995	AZL Rockies	Arizona League	13-42	6th	Colorado Rockies

Sources

Sources: La Verne University Hall of Fame,