Orioles hire Poitevint as executive director of international baseball

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

January 09, 2012, 11:40am

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The Orioles just announced that they've hired Ray Poitevint as executive director of international baseball. "I am delighted to have Ray Poitevint return to the Orioles where he began his career and to have his veteran baseball leadership as part of our global recruiting and marketing efforts," Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said in a statement. I'm about 20 minutes away from going on the air for the latest edition of "The Mid-Atlantic Sports Report," so I'll have to cut-and-paste the rest of the Orioles' press release: Now entering his sixth decade working in baseball, Poitevint began his career as an Associate Scout with the Orioles in the early 1960s. He was promoted to Area Scout and then Supervisor over the course of his 12 years with the Orioles, where he recommended and signed Hall of Fame first baseman Eddie Murray and right-handed pitcher Dennis Martinez, among others. Poitevint was an original member of the "Dalton Gang" who worked with former Orioles GM Harry Dalton in Baltimore, California and Milwaukee. After a brief stint as Farm and Development Director with the Angels, he joined the Brewers in 1978, serving as Scouting and Farm Director and eventually Vice President of International Operations in 15 years with Milwaukee. Catcher B.J. Surhoff and left-handed pitchers Ted Higuera and Juan Nieves were among his notable signings with the Brewers. He spent over nine years with the Red Sox as the Executive Director of International Operations beginning in 1992. Poitevint recommended and signed right-handed pitchers Hideo Nomo as a major league free agent and Tomo Ohka from Japan. He was also instrumental in acquiring Sun Woo Kim and Jin Ho Cho from Korea in his time working with Duquette in Boston. Poitevint also worked with the MLB Scouting Bureau for two years in the mid-70s and has placed over 50 players from American baseball clubs on Japanese teams.