Introducing Bill Livesey

Thursday, 08 November 2012 22:07

Written by Michael Sanserino

Bill Livesey is the newest member of the Pirates front office, having been hired as a senior adviser to general manager Neal Huntington. Livesey, 72, brings a lot of experience to a generally young group of front office staffers. 

Speaking from his home in Florida, Livesey sounds genuinely excited about the opportunity. The Pirates got permission from the Yankees to talk to Livesey on Nov. 1. He agreed to join the Pirates that day. 

Some have asked if his hiring has anything to do with Bob Nutting's comments the other day about hiring scouts who have better instincs and rely less on the metric side of the game. Livesey certainly fits the bill, though he was hired before Nutting's comments. 

But Livesey said he has always embraced some cutting-edge elements of the industry. He said sabermetrics have their place in the game, and they are important in terms of talent evaluation and projections. But, he said, they are rarely at the top of his list when scouting. 

He will wear many hats in his new job. He will advise Huntington, Greg Smith and Kyle Stark. He will mentor and develop members of the Pirates' baseball operations staff. He will help evaluate players. He will go on special scouting assignments. 

Livesey recently returned from Arizona, where he watched some of the Fall League. He is heading to the Dominican Republic next week to watch winter ball. He is a busy man. 

While Dave Jauss joined the coaching staff, having served as a special assistant to the GM, Livesey does not replace Jauss. He actually replaces Bill Lajoie, who died in 2010. Chuck Tanner was also a senior adviser to Huntington, several years ago. 

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Andrew McCutchen earned a Silver Slugger Award. This award was expected, as it was well earned. Not as much of a surprise as his Gold Glove win. He becomes only the fourth Pirate player in history to win both awards in the same season.