From 1976 to 1989, he was the Braves' farm director, one of the few significant front-office jobs in baseball held by a black man.

Coffie served as the farm director of the Cleveland Indians from 1993 to 1994.

I've been talking to the farm director about the six-year free agent list that's out there.

I'm not sure farm directors are not smarter than owners, anyway.

You'd have to have it done by committee: the owner, the general manager, the farm director, everybody.

He was a farm director for the Detroit Tigers.

You go to the farm director and say who's the best pitcher right now.

"We had 24 players and 10 minor league coaches, the farm director, the manager and some other guys," he said.

There are no black or Hispanic general managers or farm directors, he noted.

Duquette had been the organization's farm director and a top assistant to Phillips.