Director - Player Development/Field Coordinator
Mitch Maier will be serving as the Director of Player Development for the third straight season in 2024. He previously spent two seasons from 2020-21 as the Director of Baseball Operations. In his current role, he oversees all aspects of the player development department.
Maier served on the Major League coaching staff as the First Base Coach from 2018-19, and also worked with the clubĄ¯s outfielders and baserunners. He served in that role on an interim basis at the end of the 2017 season. In his two full seasons on the coaching staff, outfielder Alex Gordon was awarded consecutive Rawlings Gold Gloves, and the Royals recorded 117 stolen bases each year, ranking 2nd in the Majors in 2019.
He was originally selected by the Royals in the 1st round (30th overall) of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft and made his Major League debut on Sept. 23, 2006. An outfielder, he played in parts of six seasons (359 games) with Kansas City and played all but one professional season in the Royals organization, appearing in 31 games with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox in 2013.
Maier was a three-time All-MAC selection and a 2003 first-team All-America honoree at the University of Toledo. He completed his collegiate career holding the school records for batting average (.414), hits (238), doubles (42), RBI (147) and total bases (370). A native of Novi, Mich., Maier resides in Stilwell, Kan., with his wife, Karrie, and children: Avalynne, Preston and Stella.