Pittsburgh Pirates bring Jay Bell as new hitting coach – MLB News
The Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, October 31, named Jay Bell as the new hitting coach for the club. After naming Rick Sofield as the first-base coach and Dave Jauss as Major League coach, additions to manager Clint Hurdle’s staff seem to be complete.
Changes that have been introduced are aimed at assembling a host of professional and experienced coaches that help strengthen the defence and offence of the club. After all, the Pirates witnessed a downward spiral after they seemed all set to make it to the post-season.
Bringing Bell in the team as hitting coach will be harbinger of better changes for the club as a whole. Given the fact that he has impressive credentials, he becomes as all the more important member of the Pittsburgh Pirates staff.
The 47-year-old hitting coach had represented different teams in 18 seasons, starting from 1986 to 2003. Importantly, most of these years were spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates, especially the eight seasons spanning from 1989 to 1996.
As a whole, his career average stood at .265. As he represented the Pirates, he held a .269 average with 78 home-runs to his credit.
The choice seems to be a prudent one as the fans called it an important step for the Pirates. Considering the potential that the club’s offence has, he will be instrumental in adding more rigour to it.
The 2012 season may well be disappointing, but the manager Hurdle had said that the club was headed in the right direction. With acquisition of the new coaching staff, that seemed the right assessment.
He said, "We didn't finish the way we wanted to but -- and I don't try to find moral victory in a lot of things -- I do know we're headed in the right direction. Those are the things you like to see when you're building a ballclub."
With these big changes, the Pirates are hoping to have a completely different outlook in 2013 Major League Baseball season. It will, therefore, be interesting to see if they succeed in attaining their goals given the fiercely competitive National League Central Division.
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