O's pitching coach Mark Connor resigns; Adair named pitching coach

The Orioles today announced that pitching coach Mark Connor has resigned for personal reasons. Bullpen coach Rick Adair will assume pitching coach duties while Organizational Hitting Instructor and Evaluator Terry Crowley will serve as interim bullpen coach. These changes will be effective starting with tonight's game in Toronto against the Blue Jays. Adair, 53, joined the Orioles' staff this season after working the past two seasons as pitching coach with the Seattle Mariners. He oversaw the turnaround of the Mariners' staff from a 4.73 ERA in 2008 (11th in the AL) to a league-best 3.87 ERA in 2009. Adair has spent over seven full seasons as a major league pitching coach - two with Seattle (2009-10), two with Cleveland (1992-93) and three with Detroit (Sept. 1996-99). Prior to his two years in Seattle, Adair spent four years as the Texas Rangers' minor league pitching coordinator, a position he also held in the Atlanta Braves organization from 2000-2003. He has also served as a minor league pitching coach in three different minor league seasons (1994, 1995 and 2004), all at the Double-A level or higher. At the conclusion of his playing career, Adair spent the next six years (1986-1991) as the Indians' minor league pitching coordinator. Adair was selected by the Mariners in the third round of the 1979 June draft and spent seven years in their farm system before elbow injuries ended his playing career. He compiled a lifetime mark of 44-46 with a 3.92 ERA (688.2IP, 300ER) in 214 minor league appearances. Connor, 61, was in his first season as Orioles' pitching coach and his 36th season in professional baseball after serving the last two years as a special assistant in the player development department of the Texas Rangers.