Pirates Announce Jay Bell As New Hitting Coach

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced several coaching changes today for the 2013 season, and the highlight was former shortstop Jay Bell being announced as the hitting coach. Bell spent 18 seasons in the majors, with eight of those years coming with the Pirates between 1989-1996. After retiring from the game he spent time as the bench coach in Arizona from 2005-2006, and he recently was the hitting coach for Arizona’s Double-A affiliate. That team was managed by Turner Ward. Bell is currently coaching the New Zealand national team, attempting to qualify for the World Baseball Classic in March. The Pirates also announced that Rick Sofield has been named First Base Coach and Dave Jauss has been named Major League Coach. Sofield spent the 2012 season as the manager for the West Virginia Power. He will also oversee the club’s baserunning and outfield efforts while replacing Luis Silverio, who has been named Senior Advisor, Latin American Operations. In his new role, Silverio will be instrumental in the development of the club’s Latin American players in the minor league system as well as those at the Major League level. Jauss spent the 2012 season, his 25th in professional baseball, as a Special Assistant to General Manager Neal Huntington. He served the Mets as their Major League Bench Coach in 2010 after working in the same capacity with the Orioles in 2008-09 and Dodgers in 2006-07. Jauss also spent 10 years in the Boston organization and seven with Montreal after working six seasons as a college head coach.