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Sports briefs
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Pirates hire director of coaching
The Pittsburgh Pirates have named former big-league catcher John Baker their director of coaching and player development.
General manager Ben Cherington announced the hire on Tuesday, the latest step in an organizational shuffling that’s designed to help end the Pirates’ freefall. Pittsburgh finished last in the NL Central in each of the last two years.
The 39-year-old Baker comes to the Pirates from the Chicago Cubs, where he spent the last five seasons in baseball operations.
Baker played for three teams during his seven-year major league career spanning from 2008-14, hitting .247 with 14 home runs and 120 RBIs in 359 games for the Marlins, Padres and Cubs.
Wild Things add infielder
The Washington Wild Things announced the signing of infielder John Sansone, a New Castle native and Neshannock High School product, who played for the Steel City Slammin’ Sammies during Washington’s summer pod this summer.
Sansone hit .293 in 19 games, and drove in 25 runs to lead the pod. He tied for the team lead with six home runs and had a .587 slugging percentage. Two of his home runs were grand slams.
“We were pleased to see John’s emphasis on run production in 2020. As a highly touted offensive player, we will continue to hold him to a high standard with his situational hitting,” said Wild Things president and general manager Tony Buccilli. “We aim to bring back the level of consistency to his game, focusing on the quality of at-bats and executing with runners in scoring position.”
Sansone played at Neshannock High School, where he helped the Lancers win WPIAL titles in 2011 and 2012. He hit 22 career home runs and batted .661 as a junior and .597 with seven home runs as a senior. He was the WPIAL Class A Player of the Year as a junior.
He was drafted out of high school in the 39th round by Detroit but went to Flroida State instead. As a senior in 2016, he batted .370 with 26 doubles, nine home runs and 65 RBI. He was selected in the 8th round of the 2016 draft by the Cincinnati Reds, for whom he played three years.