Pirates general manager Neal Huntington wants to get broad generalizations out of the scouting game, especially ones from anonymous evaluators.
“Anonymous scouts are hacks,” Huntington told reporters last week, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “They drive me crazy."
Huntington went off on anonymous reporters after a scout told Sports Illustrated that Pirates first baseman Josh Bell was the most overrated player in the game.
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“Josh Bell can’t play,” the scout wrote in a Pirates preview. “He’s not a good defender. He’s a big lump. He has bad agility, bad footwork. He can’t run. Supposedly he’s a big power threat, but he hit 12 home runs at first base. This is not a kid! This is his third year in the big leagues! I don’t think he’s got the ability to get better.”
Huntington took offense to the quote, reiterated his support for Bell and called out the flaws in the ways some scouts still evaluate players. He pointed out how they perpetuate opinions which could be viewed as prejudiced against minority players.
"The anonymous reports were more personal attacks than they were useful, helpful analysis of tools and abilities and how those abilities play," Huntington said. "The amateur psycho-babble about players’ drive, makeup, and competitiveness. Unfortunately, so much of the information from the anonymous scouts appears to be based on archaic, racist stereotypes. The white players tended to be labeled as ‘gritty,’ ‘smart’ and ‘tough.’ Minority players seemed to be labeled as physically talented but maybe not the most talented or they had their work ethic or motivation repeatedly questioned."
Bell is coming off of two solid years for the Pirates posting batting averages of .255 and .261 while hitting a combined 38 home runs and averaging 153 games played.
Huntington called the evaluation of Bell lazy.
"So much of it, unfortunately, seemed to be based on archaic, racist stereotypes, which don’t have a place in our game," the Pirates GM said. "That preview just reinforced that they still exist and there still is a lot of work to do to rid those, not only from our game but ideally from our society."