Cam Bonifay
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Cameron Hubert Bonifay (born February 12, 1952) is an American former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
executive and scout, best known as general manager of the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
from 1993 to 2001.


Career

Bonifay's father was a minor league general manager for several teams in the farm systems of the
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
and
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
. His own career in sports began as a
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placekicker and third baseman at
Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...
in the early 1970s. While at Georgia Tech, Bonifay set and tied many records in football as well as baseball as well as being named an All-American Honorable Mention in baseball. Bonifay was not drafted but signed on as an undrafted free agent with the
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
and played two years of Minor League Baseball. Bonifay stopped playing after he was plagued with knee problems. Bonifay went back to Georgia Tech and became an assistant coach under Jim Morris beginning in 1985. In 1989, Bonifay was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame for his achievements in baseball. Bonifay is still the youngest person ever inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame. In late 1987, Bonifay became a scout with the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
starting his stint working in several major league
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
front offices. In 1993, he became general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates and in 1997, he was named general manager of the year. In 2000, Bonifay signed catcher
Jason Kendall Jason Daniel Kendall (born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He also played for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Mil ...
to a 6-year $60 million contract, a move that would have severe financial ramifications on the Pirates in later years. He was also heavily criticized for the two-year, $10-million contract given to Derek Bell in 2001. Bonifay was responsible for a few good trades such as trading Ricardo Rincon for
Brian Giles Brian Stephen Giles (born January 20, 1971) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. During his career he played for the Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres. The left-handed Giles was a two-time All-Star an ...
before the 1999 season. During his tenure as GM with the Pirates, Bonifay never compiled a winning season, however in 1997 the team remained competitive until the final week of the season and finished in 2nd place with a 79–83 record on just a $9 million payroll. At the beginning of the 1997 season, most analysts picked the Pirates to finish last with over 100 losses. After he was fired in 2001 by Pirates owner
Kevin McClatchy Kevin S. McClatchy (born January 13, 1963) is the chairman of McClatchy and former owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. He led a group of investors that purchased the team in 1996, and served as the team's CEO and lead owner until 2007 ...
, Bonifay signed with the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...
as their director of player development and scouting. He was released from that position in the offseason of 2005 when the Rays were sold into new ownership. Bonifay signed on with the
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
as a pro scout for two years starting in the 2007 season. In November of 2008, Bonifay joined the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
as a special assistant to the general manager. In December of 2023, he became senior advisor to the president. His sons Jonathan and
Josh Josh is a masculine given name, frequently a diminutive (hypocorism) of the given names Joshua or Joseph, though since the 1970s, it has increasingly become a full name on its own. It may refer to: People A–J *Big Josh, stage name for America ...
both played baseball in college. Jonathan played for Wake Forest and Josh played for
UNC Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington, or University of North Carolina at Wilmington, (UNC Wilmington or UNCW) is a public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system and enrol ...
. Josh played seven years in
Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...
for the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
and the
Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
. Josh was a hitting coach for the Texas Rangers major league system in 2017. In October 2018, the Philadelphia Phillies hired Josh to become their director of player development.


References


External links


Baseball America -- baseball executive database listing Pittsburgh Post-Gazette interview with Bonifay, June 2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonifay, Cam 1952 births Living people Cincinnati Reds executives Cincinnati Reds scouts Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball players Pittsburgh Pirates executives Major League Baseball general managers Major League Baseball scouting directors St. Louis Cardinals scouts Tampa Bay Devil Rays executives