Atlanta Braves Make New Scouting Hires

Oct 10, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals former catcher Ted Simmons throws out the ceremonial first pitch before game two of the NLDS against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The  Scouts

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The Braves show six major league scouts on their front office chart today, and again, it is not clear whether these 3 new hires are additions, replacements, or some combination thereof to those who have been serving the Braves in this capacity.

Major League scouts are those who collect detailed reports on the players of the 29 other major league clubs, with an emphasis on upcoming and common opponents for the purposes of exploiting weaknesses and tendencies.  They are also dispatched to spy on players that the Braves might have an interest in acquiring.

SIMMONS

Ted Simmons is the name that most fans will recognize in this group:  a long time catcher, Simmons (now 66) began with the Cardinals (1968-1980) and then enjoyed five seasons with the Brewers before concluding with the Braves in 1986-88.  His teams won league pennants in 1968 and 1982.

Interestingly enough, Simmons was the General Manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1992 and had apparently agreed to trade Barry Bonds to the Braves … except that Manager Jim Leyland threatened to quit over the deal.  Ayear later, he was traded to the Giants, and the rest was history… including the Sid Bream Slide game at the end of their 1992 campaign.

More recently, Simmons had been a senior advisor to Seattle GM Jack Zguriencik, but as there was a purge in Seattle… Simmons became available.  Apparently (see photo), he stopped off briefly in St. Louis on his way to Atlanta.

KINZER

Matt Kinzer, 52, has been with the Miami Marlins as an advance scout and pro scout.  He was also a right-handed pitcher, making the majors twice:  with the Cardinals in 1989 and the Tigers in 1990.  His major league career consists of 15 innings and 9 appearances with fairly forgettable numbers.

WURTH

Leon Wurth is 62 years old and was a pro scout for the Brewers for 13 years.  Before that, he also had a long stint in a similar role for the New York Yankees.  He does not have a record as a player.

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