Quinton McCracken hired as Astros Director of Player Development

The Astros team makeover party continued Friday with the announcement that Quinton McCracken had been hired as the club’s new Director of Player Development. McCracken joins coaches John Mallee and Dave Trembley, who were hired earlier in the day, as the newest members of the Astros family.

McCracken will be assisted by Allen Rowin, who was promoted from coordinator of player development to assistant director. Deposed director Fred Nelson has been offered an opportunity to stay with the organization, but I don’t see that happening.

In addition to having a cool sounding name, McCracken was a four sport star in high school and spent eight seasons as a big league outfielder. He was named team MVP of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1998, their inaugural season. His best year came in 2002, when he hit .309 in 400 plate appearances for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

For the last two seasons McCracken has been working as the Assistant Director of Player Development for the D-Backs. During that time his wife Maggie may or may not have made an appearance on the VH-1 reality series Baseball Wives.

The hirings and firings are expected to continue as Jim Crane and Jeff Luhnow proceed with their overhaul the organization. The new Director of Social Media is next on the list. It’s been rumored that Alyson Footer’s replacement will be announced on Monday.