A Look Into Pirates Management - KHarmo88's Dynasty

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A Look Into Pirates Management

Posted on April 1, 2013 at 08:25 PM.

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Bob Nutting - Chairman of the Board

Robert (Bob) Nutting serves as Chairman of the Board of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bob assumed control of the club in January of 2007, thus becoming the sixth principal owner in the history of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He has served as Chairman of the Board and represented his family's interest in the club since 2003.

Upon assuming control of the organization, Nutting put a plan in place to overhaul the entire operation. In September of 2007, he appointed Frank Coonelly as the team's new president and, in-turn, Neal Huntington as the team's new general manager. Since that time the effort has been to build a strong foundation by investing in the core operations, while aggressively acquiring and developing talent.

Nutting further demonstrated his long-term commitment to the club by constructing the Pirates new training academy in the Dominican Republic. The new campus style training complex, which opened in April 2009 as one of the very best in Major League Baseball, will help the Pirates attract, retain and teach the best players, coaches and scouts in the Latin America region.

Nutting's family roots in the greater Pittsburgh region date back as long as the Pirates 123-year history. Under his leadership, the Pirates have made a commitment to making an even deeper positive impact in the community. In 2009, the Pirates and its newly formed philanthropic arm, Pirates Charities, assisted more than 2,000 community organizations. Also in 2009, Pirates Charities officially opened the new Pirates Charities Miracle League Field. The field, which is the first of its kind in the Pittsburgh region, is designed and dedicated to allow children with special needs to enjoy the game of baseball.

Nutting brings a long history of building successful organizations and a multi-generational commitment to the economic growth of the Pittsburgh region. He also serves as President and CEO of Ogden Newspapers, Inc., and Chairman of Seven Springs Mountain Resort; a four-season resort located 60 miles East of Pittsburgh.

Frank Coonelly - President

Frank Coonelly was named President of the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 13, 2007, and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organization. In this role, Frank leads the Pirates' senior management group and is accountable for the organization's success both on and off the field.

Prior to joining the Pirates, Frank served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Labor in the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball where he negotiated and administered collective bargaining agreements with the Major League Baseball Players Association and the World Umpires Association. Frank led a staff of attorneys who represented the Commissioner and the 30 Clubs in the litigation and arbitration of labor disputes and provided contract and economic advice and counsel to the 30 clubs.

Coonelly practiced labor and employment law as a Partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius before joining the Commissioner's Office. A large part of Frank's practice consisted of the representation of Major League Baseball as outside labor counsel. In that role, Frank assisted the Commissioner of Baseball in collective bargaining and litigation matters. He also represented several individual Clubs, including the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos and Atlanta Braves, in salary arbitration matters.

Neil Huntington - Senior Vice President & General Manager

Neal Huntington was named Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 25, 2007, thus becoming the 12th G.M. in the history of the club. In this role, he is responsible for the entire baseball operations department which includes overseeing the Major League club and scouting and player development systems.

Prior to joining the Pirates, Neal worked as a Special Assistant to the General Manager for the 2007 American League Central Division champion Cleveland Indians. In his role as Special Assistant to the General Manager, Huntington served as an evaluator and advisor for Cleveland General Manager Mark Shapiro, providing recommendations regarding personnel, strategic planning and decision making. Neal also scouted major and minor league players and provided recommendations with respect to player evaluation, acquisition and retention. He also provided scouting evaluations on players within the Indians organization while doing advance scouting work for a portion of the Indians' opponents.

Huntington began his association with the Indians in 1998 as the Assistant Director of Minor League operations. In November of 1998, Neal took over as Cleveland's Director of Player Development. In that role he instilled a holistic developmental philosophy that focused on the systematic development of the person as well as the player. He also oversaw the Indians player development system, including Latin American Field Operations. After being promoted to the title of Assistant General Manager on November 1, 2001, Huntington assisted Shapiro in all areas of the day-to-day operation of the major league club, concentrating particularly in player evaluation, acquisition and retention.

Neal began his major league career in the Montreal Expos organization on June 1, 1992. He spent the 1994 campaign as the video advance scout for the Expos major league club and was then promoted to Assistant Director, Player Development after the 1994 season, where he assisted in all aspects of Montreal's Player Development system.

Greg Smith - Greg Smith - Director of Scouting

In 2008 Smith spearheaded the club's First-Year Player Draft efforts and selected Vanderbilt third baseman Pedro Alvarez - who was rated by Baseball America as the "No. 1 prospect" in the draft - with the second pick overall. The Pirates signed 32 of their 50 picks from the 2008 draft and selected 33 players from the college ranks. Smith and his scouting staff followed up with another strong draft in 2009, signing each of the first 14 selections and 23 overall. College catcher Tony Sanchez, the club's first-round pick and fourth in the country, went on to hit .309 while playing at three different levels in his first professional season.

In addition to his duties as the Director of Scouting, Greg provides recommendations to General Manager Neal Huntington regarding personnel, strategic planning and decision making for the Baseball Operations department.

Smith is an 18-year scouting veteran, having spent 11 seasons with the Detroit organization, working the last three years (2005-07) as the club's special assignment scout.

Prior to 2005, Greg spent eight seasons (1997-2004) as Detroit's Director of Scouting where he oversaw the First-Year Player Draft and international scouting. He also simultaneously served as the Club's Director of Player Development from 2000-2002. Before joining the Tigers organization, Smith spent seven years (1990-96) as an area scout with the San Diego Padres, covering areas from Florida to Maryland.

Under Smith's guidance, the Tigers selected 2006 American League Rookie of the Year Justin Verlander with the second overall pick in the 2004 draft. Smith and his staff were rated by Baseball America as having the strongest draft of all 30 Major League clubs in 2002, a year in which the club selected outfielder Curtis Granderson in the third round and right-handed pitcher Joel Zumaya in the 11th round. Additionally, Greg was directly responsible for the signing of Jair Jurrjens as a non-drafted free agent out of Curacao. During Smith's tenure as Director of Scouting, the Tigers signed and developed over 40 players who reached the Major League level.

Smith spent seven years (1990-1996) as an area scout with the San Diego Padres before joining the Detroit organization. An outfielder/first baseman during his playing days, he signed with the Padres as a free agent on 6/7/88 and played three seasons in the minor leagues with Spokane (1988), Charleston, SC (1989) and Riverside (1990), a club managed by Bruce Bochy.

Kyle Stark - Director of Player Development

Kyle Stark is in his third season as Pittsburgh's Director of Player Development. He was named to his current post on November 7, 2007.

Stark is responsible for all aspects of the Player Development system, including the club's six affiliates in the United States as well as academies in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. The Pirates player development system is focused on helping all players reach their potential - personally, mentally, physically, and fundamentally - and develop as professionals. This is accomplished through a relentless, systematic, and cohesive approach involving structured, consistent, progression-oriented instruction throughout the organization and detailed, written development plans for all players.

In addition, he provides recommendations to General Manager Neal Huntington regarding personnel, strategic planning and decision making for the Baseball Operations department.

Prior to joining Huntington's staff, Stark spent four years in Cleveland's Baseball Operations department, assisting in all areas of Scouting, Player Development and Major League Operations. In 2006 and 2007, Stark performed the baseball related duties of the Assistant Farm Director, oversaw the club's efforts in Pacific Rim Scouting, and coordinated the club's Advanced Scouting which included providing scouting reports on upcoming opponents.

Tyrone Brooks - Director of Baseball Operations

The 2010 season marks Tyrone Brooks' first year as a member of the Pirates Baseball Operations department. He was named to his current position on December 2.

In his current role, Brooks assists General Manager Neal Huntington in all aspects of Baseball Operations including rules compliance, arbitration preparation, transactions, budgeting and contract negotiations. He also provides recommendations regarding personnel, strategic planning and decision making for the Baseball Operations department.

Brooks spent the last three seasons (2007-09) as a Professional Scout with the Cleveland Indians, with an emphasis on the Pacific Coast League, Texas League and California League while giving secondary Major League coverage.

Prior to joining the Cleveland organization, he spent 11 years working with the Atlanta Braves, most recently as their Director of Baseball Administration in 2006. He originally joined the Braves as their Baseball Operations Trainee in May of 1996 through the club's Career Initiative Program. Brooks also served the Atlanta organization as a Baseball Operations Assistant, Area Scouting Supervisor, Assistant, Player Personnel and Director of Baseball Operations.

Brooks is currently on the Board of Directors of the Midwest Scouts Association and is a member of the Buck O'Neil Professional Scouts and Coaches Association.