That white smoke coming from Rome wasn’t meant to signal the dismissal of manager Derek Shelton by the Pittsburgh Pirates. As Catholics worldwide celebrate a new Pope, Pirates fans celebrate a new manager in hometown kid Don Kelly. Cardinals had a hand in both moves, although it was the ones in St. Louis who might have put the final nail in Shelton’s coffin by sweeping his Pirates in three games.
Shelton and the Pirates: A Retrospective
Shelton finished with a record of 306-440 over five years plus 38 games. His teams finished last three times and fourth twice in the National League Central Division, and he leaves with the 12-26 Pirates sitting in last place. That the ax would fall wasn’t surprising in light of the Pirates’ recent play. As one might imagine, Shelton wasn’t popular in Pittsburgh. Fans questioned his in-game strategy and unwillingness to stick to a set lineup and play “small ball.” They charged him with being too easy on the players. But we’ve seen him get animated with umpires – he had 16 career ejections – so it’s easy to imagine he could be that way with his players behind the scenes.
By all accounts, however, Shelton was a hard worker. However, once Shelton took the gig as the Pirates’ pilot, general manager Ben Cherington began to gut the team of established players. Gone were Starling Marte, Josh Bell, Joe Musgrove, and Jameson Taillon. Shelton was forced to give significant playing time to the likes of Anthony Alford, Michael Chavis, Ben Gamel, Erik González, Colin Moran, Alfonso Rivas III, Ka’ai Tom, Cole Tucker, and Josh VanMeter. In his press conference discussing the firing, Cherington said, “If I had done my job perfectly for five years, might not be meeting with you today.” No kidding.
During this recent cold spell that saw the Pirates lose 10 of 11, Shelton looked as though the job had finally beaten him down. Let’s look back at his tenure.
December 4, 2019: Pirates Hire Shelton
After his predecessor unceremoniously botched the firing of Clint Hurdle, new GM Cherington went to work on a search for a replacement. Shelton was chosen over several candidates that included former Pirates bench coach Jeff Banister and a cast of up-and-coming, analytically attuned managers in waiting. He came with an impressive resume: Tampa Bay Rays hitting coach (2009-16), Toronto Blue Jays quality control coach (2017), and Minnesota Twins bench coach (2018-19). Shelton was praised for his energy, humility, curiosity, and sense of humor. He flashed much of that humor at his introductory press conference. He discussed being introduced to a Primanti Brothers sandwich by Musgrove. “I don’t think I’m going to eat for a week,” he joked.
His first season was memorable. The coronavirus pandemic canceled the start of the 2020 season. Finally, Major League Baseball hastily put together a 60-day season commencing on July 24. With no fans in the stands and a ragtag roster, Shelton’s Bucs finished 19-41. If nothing else, Shelton became the answer to a trivia question. He was the first manager ejected from a game for having a “socially distanced argument” with an umpire.
May 27, 2021, Cubs 5, Pirates 3: The Rundown
The 2021 Pirates finished in last place at 61-101 while making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Nothing was dumber that season – or ever – than Pirates first baseman Will Craig getting suckered by Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Báez into a rundown between home plate and first base at PNC Park. With two outs and two Cubs on base in the third inning, Báez grounded to third baseman González. The throw pulled Craig off the bag. Craig could have ended the inning by stepping on the bag. Instead, Báez retreated to home plate, and Craig gave chase.
By the time the Pirates got done throwing the ball around the infield like the Bad News Bears, two runs had scored. Shelton told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “The bag hasn’t moved in 140 years. . . Our guys have got to know the rules. That’s my fault.” (No, it wasn’t.) Five days later, Craig played his last major league game.
June 8, 2021, Dodgers 5, Pirates 3: Off Base
In the bottom of the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park, Ke’Bryan Hayes appeared to give the Pirates an early 1-0 lead when he drove a ball over the Clemente Wall in right field. However, there was one problem. As Hayes rounded the bases, he missed first base. The Dodgers appealed, he was called out, and the home run was nullified. Unlike Craig, who bravely faced the media and owned up to his mistake, Hayes didn’t hang around after the game. That left Shelton to explain this latest Pirates miscue. “Key got caught watching the ball,” he told Mackey.
May 7, 2022, Reds 9, Pirates 2: Knapp Sacked
In 2022, the Pirates improved by just one game at 62-100 while continuing to make headlines worthy of the comics section. At Cincinnati, catcher Andrew Knapp, who wasn’t in the game, was ejected from the game for arguing a call by the home plate umpire. No big deal, right? Right – until the eighth inning, when Pirates catcher Roberto Pérez pulled his hamstring while running the bases. That left Pittsburgh without a catcher in a 2-2 game. Behind the plate went willing, versatile reserve infielder VanMeter. Unfortunately, not having a real catcher affected how Wil Crowe and then Beau Sulser pitched. The Reds scored seven runs in the eighth inning.
Again, it was Mackey who had to untangle this latest Pirates brain fart. “It falls on me to be smarter than that,” said Knapp. “There’s really no excuse.” Shelton agreed. Knapp was released 11 days later.
June 4, 2022, Pirates 2, Diamondbacks 1: Down Goes Castro
In May, the Pirates recalled talented but immature infielder Rodolfo Castro to give their offense a boost. Castro vowed to his manager at Triple-A Indianapolis that he was never coming back. But he sure had a funny way of going about it. Hitting .206 going into a home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Castro came to bat in the second inning with Chavis on first and no outs. Castro popped weakly to first baseman Christian Walker and went into a slow jog while carrying the bat. With the infield fly rule not in effect, Walker, near the bag, alertly let the ball drop and stepped on first to retire Castro, after which Chavis was retired in a rundown.
Despite winning, Shelton wasn’t happy with the play. “It’s not acceptable. That’s not how we play.” It was back to Indianapolis for Castro. Supposedly soft with his players, Shelton jettisoned Knapp and Castro in less than a month.
August 9, 2022, Diamondbacks 6, Pirates 4: R.C., Phone Home
Again, it was Castro and the opponent was the Diamondbacks, only this time the game was in Phoenix. Recalled before the game, Castro was in the lineup and drew a walk in the fourth inning. Oneil Cruz followed with a single. As Castro slid headfirst into third base, out of his back pocket popped his iPhone. No ejection resulted, and it had no effect on the game. But it was another absurd moment in an absurd season.
August 18, 2022, Pirates 8, Red Sox 2: Revenge of the Hodgepodge
There’s no shortage of hometown pride in Pittsburgh. Its denizens will make fun of their teams, but anybody outside of Pittsburgh had better not. So, nobody in the one-time Steel City was pleased when Boston Red Sox broadcaster Dennis Eckersley called the Pirates a “hodgepodge of nothingness” on a televised game from PNC Park on August 16, 2022.
“It’s ridiculous. It really is. Pathetic,” ranted Eckersley. “You talk about a no-name lineup. There’s no team like this. Love to see some of the service time. You add it all up, it’s not much.”
“Eck” must have choked on his microphone two nights later when the “hodgepodge” came alive and beat the Red Sox, 8-2. Kevin Newman and Bryan Reynolds had three hits apiece for the Pirates. Reynolds had a home run and four RBI. Pirates starter JT Brubaker pitched seven innings, the first pitcher to do so four times under Shelton.
September 16, 2022, Mets 4, Pirates 3: Sunflower Seedgate
The Theatre of the Absurd continued in New York when TV cameras caught Hayes reaching in his back pocket for sunflower seeds when he should have been covering third base. Mets TV analyst Todd Zeile said, “That’s September baseball when you’re in the Pittsburgh Pirate organization right now.” It didn’t reflect well on Shelton and the Pirates.
Everyone was watching Eduardo Escobar dash home in the 3rd, but did you notice Ke’Bryan Hayes eating sunflower seeds during the play?@Todd_Zeile on Mets Post Game: pic.twitter.com/Ca6v75UPau
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 17, 2022
September 23, 2023, Pirates 13, Reds 12: The Comeback
It was the biggest comeback in Pirates history and probably the highlight of the Shelton Era. At Cincinnati, the Reds knocked Pirates starter Bailey Falter out early. After three innings, the Reds led, 9-0. Pittsburgh stormed back with 13 runs, 12 of which were scored over the sixth through eighth innings. The bullpen gave up three late runs. The game ended with a Red on third base with one out. However, Pirates rookie reliever Carmen Mlodzinski struck out Elly De La Cruz and retired Jonathan India on a fly ball to earn his first career save. The Pittsburgh newspapers praised the culture Shelton was creating.
After the usual trade deadline exodus of Pirates veterans, it looked like time to write off the 2023 season. But the young Pirates had different ideas and played good baseball over the season’s final 72 games, during which they went 37-35 to finish with a 76-86 record. Cynical Post-Gazette columnist wrote of 2023’s best Pirates moments. “Dare we dream those moments might happen a little more frequently in 2024?” he asked. Speaking to Mackey at the MLB Winter Meetings, Pirates president Travis Williams praised Shelton for keeping the players “focused, energized, excited and looking to continue to develop and get better.” Shelton got an extension during the season. There were high hopes for 2024. Sadly, when the Pirates repeated another 76-86 season, Shelton needed a good start to 2025. He didn’t get it.
The post Shelton and the Pirates: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the Stupid appeared first on Last Word On Baseball.