Amaro gives scout Levis a second chance

CLEARWATER, Fla. - All Jesse Levis wanted was a second chance. The Phillies have given it to him.

The former star catcher for Northeast High School and All-America at North Carolina, was quietly hired by the Phillies as a professional coverage scout this offseason. He had been out of work for 2 years after being arrested and charged with two felony counts of committing lewd and lascivious acts in the presence of children in March 2008 while working as a scout for the Boston Red Sox.

He was fired at the end of that season and had been unable to get another job in baseball even though he took and passed a lie detector test and that the charges were dropped from felonies to misdemeanors and finally dismissed altogether.

"We had some discussions with Jesse and talked to him several times. It was an opportunity for him to do what he does best. He's a very good talent evaluator and we hope we can benefit from his expertise," said Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., who played American Legion baseball with Levis growing up.

"It was a tough situation for him. We're hopeful that this will help him put that behind him."

Levis, who played the entire 2003 season for the Phillies' Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre farm team, is presently scouting for the Phillies in Arizona. He's a lifelong resident of the Philadelphia area.

In a Daily News story last summer, he talked movingly about how the incident had turned his life upside down.

"It was a mess," he said. "I sat in limbo for almost 2 years. A lot happened in the middle of that as far as losing my job. It was terrible. I had no benefit of the doubt. My whole life, I built a good name and I was a good person. And I am a good person. And in an instant . . .

"A big part of my life has been taken away from me. My profession, the thing I love to do most, which is work in baseball, what I've done my whole life, has been taken away from me. Hopefully, my reputation will be rebuilt and I'll be able to prove again that I can really help an organization. I think I have a lot to offer an organization as far as my knowledge and experience. So, hopefully, somebody will give me a chance."

It turns out it was the Phillies who gave it to him.