Reds vice-president of scouting set to visit Wright State

Bill Bavasi was the executive vice president and general manager of baseball operations for the Seattle Mariners from 2003-08 before being hired by the Reds.

In between scouting trips across the country and the world, Bill Bavasi is making a pit stop at Wright State.

The vice-president of Scouting, Player Development and International Operations for the Cincinnati Reds has been involved with baseball for 35 years. He’ll share some of his accumulated wisdom about the game at the 2011 First Pitch Banquet at Wright State’s Nutter Center Wednesday, January 26.

“It’s our way of kind of starting off our season and introducing our program to our team and the university,” said Rob Cooper, Wright State’s head baseball coach.

Bavasi is the fifth consecutive keynote speaker for the banquet with ties to the Cincinnati Reds.

“They’ve all been good whether it was Jim Morris at the first one or Dusty Baker last year. We’ve had great speakers and more importantly a great turnout from Wright State baseball alums through the years. It’s a great night to celebrate Wright State baseball,” said Cooper.

The First Pitch Banquet features a sit-down dinner along with a silent auction. VIPs will get a chance to meet Bavasi before the banquet.

The doors will open to the public Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Before joining Cincinnati in 2008, Bavasi was the vice president/general manager for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from 1994­‑99 and executive vice president and general manager of baseball operations for the Seattle Mariners from 2003-08.

Bavasi began his professional baseball career in 1974 with the San Diego Padres. He was named Angels general manager after 14 years in their player development department and helped lay the groundwork for that club’s 2002 World Series championship.

He spent the 2002-03 seasons as the Los Angeles Dodgers director of player development before the Mariners hired him as their GM in November 2003.