Fortunately, Eddie's name is sorta in the news. (As if I needed a concrete excuse to feature #33 on this blog.) Orioles GM Dan Duquette is still hard at work sculpting the front office in his own image, and his latest hire is Ray Poitevint, who will serve as Executive Director of International Baseball. Ray has a lengthy and distinguished resume. For example:
-Played low-level minor league ball in 1949-1950 for the Medford (OR) Nuggets and the Riverside (CA) Rubes. They just don't name teams like they used to.
-Served in the U.S. military during the Korean War, as did my dearly departed grandfather.
-Began his scouting career with the Orioles in the early 1960s, working his way up the ladder to a supervisory position. His two biggest signings during his 12 years with the O's were Eddie Murray and a skinny kid from Nicaragua named Dennis Martinez.
-During a 15-year stint with the Brewers, Ray signed pitchers Teddy Higuera and Juan Nieves, and catcher B.J. Surhoff. He also first worked with Duquette in Milwaukee, and made enough of an impression that Dan hired him to oversee Boston's international scouting efforts in the 1990s.
Sure, you're probably doing the math and realizing that ol' Ray is pushing 80. But just because Syd Thrift was well into his dotage when he oversaw the Birds a decade ago, that doesn't mean that there aren't some sharp octogenarians out there. More importantly, the O's actually have the makings of an international staff, rather than just one guy. Baby steps.
No comments:
Post a Comment