Miami Marlins Hire Los Angeles Angels’ Bill Hezel as Director of Pitching

Coming off two seasons with the Los Angeles Angels' pitching staff, Bill Hezel will step into a player development role as the Miami Marlins' director of pitching.
Apr 24, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a Miami Marlins hat and glove in the dugout before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.
Apr 24, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a Miami Marlins hat and glove in the dugout before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Miami Marlins are hiring Bill Hezel as their director of pitching, The Athletic's Sam Blum reported Friday.

Hezel previously served as the Los Angeles Angels' assistant pitching coach in 2023, then as their pitching strategist in 2024. He was a pitching consultant for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2020 and 2021.

According to Blum, Hezel will primarily be involved in player development in Miami.

Hezel is the latest addition to new manager Clayton McCullough's staff, joining hitting coach Pedro Guerrero. Almost all of the previous regime was dismissed in October after manager Skip Schumaker announced he would not be returning for 2025.

Hezel, 38, will bring a new-school mentality to the Marlins' pitching staff, considering the background he brings to the table beyond his MLB experience.

Before he joined the Angels, and while he was advising the Phillies, Hezel was the director of pitching at Driveline Baseball, a data-driven development organization in Washington. He was previously the manager of mechanical analysis for the company.

Hezel was a senior retirement plan consultant at ADP for the seven years leading up to his time at Driveline.

It isn't as if Hezel is a total outsider to the game, though, as he pitched at Lehigh and East Stroudsburg University back in his college days. Hezel was the pitching coach at Northampton Community College for five seasons, then DeSales University for the next two.

Hezel worked his way into big league circles by making connections with draft prospects and established pitchers alike while he was at Driveline, starting him on the path that ultimate went through Philadelphia, Anaheim and now Miami.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.