The Pittsburgh Pirates have hired Bill Livesey to be a Senior Advisor to the General Manager, per a team press release. Livesey, 72, was most recently a professional scout with the New York Yankees from 2008-2011. Prior to that he spent three seasons as a Special Assistant to the General Manager of the New York Mets.
Livesey spent 18 years with the Yankees from 1978-1995, and was involved in all phases of player development and scouting. He was the Vice President of Player Development during his last four years with the Yankees, before being hired as the Special Assistant to the General Manager by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in September 2005. He eventually served as Tampa Bay’s Director of Player Personnel. Livesey has also spent two years as the Special Assistant to Toronto General Manager J.P. Ricciardi.
Livesey’s son Jeff was the Minor League Hitting Coordinator the last two seasons, and has been in the organization for ten years.
November 8, 2012 at 11:56 am
so basically to hold NH hand?
November 9, 2012 at 1:35 pm
And hopefully to report to Nutting every time he does something stupid.
November 9, 2012 at 2:43 pm
We get the guy that was with the Yankees the only time they were bad for an extended period.
November 8, 2012 at 12:01 pm
This guy sounds like a solid baseball man, something this organization could use more of. Hope he has more to say than just being a figure head.
November 8, 2012 at 12:03 pm
I LOVE this move!!! Nothing but good can come from it.
Foo
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November 8, 2012 at 12:09 pm
Apparently in the evaluation period after the season Nutting, Coonley and Huntington came to the conclusion that one of the management problems was with management and that Huntington needed some help. I would like to see just what the specific duties are for Livesey. I also wonder how many teams have a senior advisor to the GM.
November 8, 2012 at 12:23 pm
maybe this is backup to keep NH on his toes….
November 8, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Then I’m not encouraged. Given Omar Minaya’s pitiful record, I don’t see how Livesy will help NH.
Twitter: timwilliamsp2
November 8, 2012 at 12:33 pm
This isn’t a new position for the Pirates. Chuck Tanner used to have this role. They’ve had other guys in this role as well in the past.
November 8, 2012 at 12:12 pm
Next thing you know they might hire an advance scout, or not, after all what he tell them with the mountains of data they have at their disposal?
November 8, 2012 at 12:19 pm
I like the move… I think. It seems like for all of the review, interviewing, etc that Nutting went through the conclusion was that the thing didn’t need blown up. It needed some outside help. We’ll see how much it helps.
November 8, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Sure sounds like Nutting wants a baseball man as a watchdog to report to him.
November 8, 2012 at 12:46 pm
Good move. John Hart of mlb.tv fame is a senior advisor to the Rangers, and I think that the Dodgers hired one a while ago. I think it is very wise to take advantage of such good baseball man’s insight and judgment.
November 8, 2012 at 4:55 pm
In searching for some background about Livesey, I came across this article from the University of Maine alumni magazine. Note Brian Cashman’s comments. http://umaine.edu/colleges/education/alumni-profiles/bill-livesey/
November 9, 2012 at 7:47 am
I like the sound of this. Exactly what the Pirates need. Statistical analysis is essential, but there also need to be people who can identify talent and / or skills that don’t show up on a stat sheet. The big question is how much will NH listen?