Neil Stillman is the General Manager of the Santa Barbara Seabirds, the head honcho, and thus the only voice coach Mel Hornsby has no choice but to listen to.
Appearances[]
Dead Man's Curve Ball[]
In "Dead Man's Curve Ball", Neil is looking to improve the Seabirds' status every which way, presumably because he himself has a performance-related bonus. When scouts from the majors turn up, despite his off-field antics Neil orders Mel to put in Izzy Jackson, their top talent. The star never gets to strut his stuff, however, as Shawn accidentally opens an entire canning factory of worms while trying to smooth ruffled feathers, and the Seabirds whole roster basically become embroiled in a 'civil war'. Neil fires Shawn for his role in all this, and replaces him with Wade Boggs.
Gus and Shawn do not see themselves as off the case, however, and keep digging, unearthing a contract Izzy recently signed which would sting the Seabirds to the tune of $10 million dollars, a bonus for the player after sixty games in the minors when the team achieved major league status. Neil therefore had a very compelling motive to get Izzy picked up by another team, or to make him violate his contract. Neil takes Shawn and Gus hostage at gunpoint when he realizes they are on to him, but the sequential arrival of Cal Eason, Wade, and finally Henry puts paid to his plans.