Cam Bonifay
From BR Bullpen
Cameron Hubert Bonifay
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 180 lb.
- School Georgia Tech
- Born February 12, 1952 in St. Petersburg, FL USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Cam Bonifay played baseball and football at Georgia Tech. After graduation, he played one season in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system in 1974 before becoming a scout. He split the year between the Modesto Reds (.172/~.294/.172, 12 K in 29 AB in 9 games), the St. Petersburg Cardinals (.222/~.222/.259 in 8 games) and the GCL Cardinals (.273/~.385/.424), playing first base at each stop.
Bonifay was a scout for the Cardinals in 1980-1981, and the Cincinnati Reds starting in 1983. He was the Scouting Director for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1990 and assistant GM from 1991 to 1993. He then was General Manager of the Pirates from 1993 to 2001. He was widely criticized for spending too much money on players with poor track records, such as Pat Meares and Derek Bell. However, he was named Executive of the Year in 1997 for almost leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to the playoffs with a total Major League player salary total of $9 million.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays hired Bonifay to two two-year contracts as Director of Player Development. Under him, the Durham Bulls won the International League title three straight years - 2002, 2003, and 2004. He was fired along with Chuck LaMar when Vince Naimoli sold the Devil Rays.
In 2007, Bonifay joined the St. Louis Cardinals front office.
He is the father of Ken Bonifay and Josh Bonifay (hitting coach for the 2008 Hickory Crawdads).
| Preceded by Ted Simmons | Pittsburgh Pirates General Manager 1993-2001 | Succeeded by Dave Littlefield |
