According to Jason Mackey of Post-Gazette, the Pittsburgh Pirates have hired John Baker as their new farm director, taking over for Larry Broadway, who will fill another undetermined role in the system. Mackey first mentioned the possibility of Baker being hired over the weekend.
Sources: John Baker has been hired as Pirates' farm director. A former player, Baker was previously a mental skills coach with the Cubs. Diverse and interesting background.
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) November 10, 2020
This will be Baker’s first time as a farm director. As mentioned in the tweet, he was a mental skills coach with the Chicago Cubs. He was originally hired by the Cubs as a Baseball Operations Assistant in December of 2015, before moving to the Mental Skills Coordinator role in January of 2017. Baker played pro ball up until 2015. He was drafted in 2002 out of college by the Oakland A’s and spent seven seasons as a catcher in the majors, seeing time with the Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres and Cubs.
We will have more on this hiring if/when the Pirates make an official announcement.
UPDATE: The Pirates announce the hiring, with his official title being the Director of Coaching and Player Development. Here’s the press release:
