Former Brave Perry new Pirates hitting coach

PITTSBURGH - Former Atlanta Braves first baseman and outfielder Gerald Perry has been hired as the Pittsburgh Pirates&#39; hitting coach. <br> <br> That&#39;s the same job he held the last three seasons with the Seattle Mariners. Perry&#39;s hiring Monday rounds out a Pirates coaching staff that has been reshaped by general manager Dave Littlefield since the season ended. <br> <br> Perry, of Savannah, Georgia, played for the Braves from 1983 to 1989. <br> <br> He spent three seasons in the Boston Red Sox organization as a minor league hitting coach or coordinator before becoming former Seattle manager Lou Piniella&#39;s hitting coach in 2000. <br> <br> Piniella recently left to manage the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Mariners led the AL with a .288 average while winning 116 games in 2001 and were fourth in the league this year with a .275 average. <br> <br> The 42-year-old Perry hit .265 with 59 homers and 396 RBIs in 1,193 games with the Braves, Royals and Cardinals from 1983-95. He finished his career as the Cardinals&#39; all-time leader with 70 pinch hits.

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