Chase Maddux poses with his parents Greg and Kathy Maddux during a signing day ceremony at Bishop Gorman High School Wednesday, April 15, 2015. Chase Maddux signed a national letter of intent to play baseball for UNLV. T .
Thursday, April 16, 2015 | 2 a.m.
The similarities are obvious for Bishop Gorman High baseball coach Gino DiMaria.
Gorman senior pitcher Chase Maddux stands 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs about 140 pounds. And when he delivers a pitch to the plate, it reminds DiMaria of a pitcher he batted against in the 1980s.
Then a high school player at Gorman, DiMaria faced Greg Maddux, Chase’s dad, who was a standout at Valley High before embarking on a Hall of Fame big-league career. Greg Maddux was also tall and lanky.
“Everything he throws has movement,” DiMaria said of Chase Maddux. “It tails in, tails out, drops. He’s a very smart pitcher. He listens to everything he’s told. He’s a competitor and fearless on the mound.”
Chase Maddux will pitch for UNLV next season, signing a letter of intent Wednesday with the Rebels. The Madduxes are a Rebel family — mom, Kathy, is a graduate; dad is always spotted at basketball home games a few rows from the court.
“We have been Rebels forever,” Greg Maddux said.
If Chase Maddux, who has a 3-1 record with 12 strikeouts in 15 innings this spring, resembles his father, it’s for good reason: Dad has always been his coach. Greg Maddux, who retired in 2008 with 355 career wins, is the volunteer pitching coach at Gorman, which is 17-2 overall and ranked nationally.
“He taught me everything I know,” Chase Maddux said. “Everything I do (while pitching) is because he told me to do it. Every step of the way, he has been there.”
Chase Maddux was just 4-foot-11, 105 pounds when he was a freshman at Gorman, but has developed into a college-caliber pitcher as his body has also developed. He still needs to add mass to his frame — but, then again, so did Greg Maddux when he graduated from Valley in 1984.
It’s easy to compare the younger Maddux with his famous father, especially since their appearance and pitching style are similar. Chase Maddux, though, doesn’t worry about equaling his father’s feats.
“When I am out there, the only thing I can control is how I pitch, not expectations,” he said.
In addition to attending UNLV basketball games next year, Greg Maddux plans to become a fixture in the bleachers at the baseball team’s Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
“He’s his own pitcher,” Greg Maddux said. “He will figure out the way to have success.”
Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21
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