Kevin Gorman stories, Page 127
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Looking at the Pirates’ potential lineup over a 60-game season
Baseball is back, so the Pittsburgh Pirates are returning to PNC Park. That’s the good news for the sport’s fans. The bad news is MLB and its Players’ Association wasted weeks of preparation by having a labor dispute amid a pandemic. In the time the two sides spent negotiating over...
Pirates agree to terms with 1st-round pick Nick Gonzales, who expects to sign Wednesday
The Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to terms with first-round pick Nick Gonzales and will sign the New Mexico State shortstop Wednesday, pending his passing a physical exam. Gonzales was en route to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, his father, Mike Gonzales, confirmed to the Tribune-Review. The Pirates selected Gonzales with the No. 7...
MLB players reject proposal; Rob Manfred implements 60-game seasonVideo
After the MLB Players Association executive board rejected an MLB proposal Monday afternoon by a 33-5 vote, commissioner Rob Manfred was forced to implement a 60-game season. The vote ended weeks of negotiations between baseball’s owners and the union. The standoff stalled the start of the season after the sport...
Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin feels ‘pretty confident’ staff is ready for season to start
Oscar Marin knows being a new pitching coach amid a pandemic is less than ideal, but feels “pretty confident” about the progress the Pittsburgh Pirates staff has made preparing for baseball’s return. “Everything is new to us, new to myself,” Marin said Saturday on 93.7 FM. “I’m working through a...
Pirates pitcher Derek Holland: I feel like fans are on our side in MLB negotiationsVideo
As an 11-year major league veteran, Derek Holland is one of the established players for the Pittsburgh Pirates. As a nonroster invitee to spring training, the left-handed pitcher still is trying to make the team. That didn’t stop Holland from speaking candidly Friday night in an interview with Dan Zangrilli...
Pirates: No positive cases of covid-19 with players or staff at Pirate City in Bradenton
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Friday that they have not had any positive cases of covid-19 involving any employees, including players, at their spring training and minor league facility in Florida. The Pirates released the statement in response to the Philadelphia Phillies confirming eight positive cases of the coronavirus, including five...
MLBPA chief Tony Clark: ‘Unequivocally false’ that MLB, players had reached agreement
A day after their face-to-face meeting, negotiations Thursday for the return of baseball between MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark grew more contentious, as Clark said it was “unequivocally false” that any prior agreement had been reached. Clark announced a counterproposal to the owners’...
‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 74: Frank Varrichione’s textbook blocking earned respect
The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 74: Frank Varrichione When drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers out of Notre Dame, he was known as Faintin’ Frank Varrichione for his infamous faking...
Baseball on brink of playing shortened season after impromptu meeting, new MLB offerVideo
Baseball is on the brink of playing a shortened season, following a face-to-face meeting between MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark. According to multiple reports, the players are contemplating a proposed 60-game schedule with games starting July 19 and ending Sept. 27, full prorated...
Pirates manager Derek Shelton says owner Bob Nutting ‘wants to play’ a baseball season
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton believes that team chairman Bob Nutting “wants to play” baseball this summer, despite reports that some MLB owners are stalling negotiations to avoid a season. Shelton said during his weekly appearance on The Cook and Joe Show on 93.7 The Fan that he spoke with...
Pirates GM Ben Cherington encourages frustrated baseball fans to ‘hold us accountable’
Ben Cherington said he remains optimistic MLB and the Players Association will find a way to play this summer, but the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager doesn’t blame baseball fans for feeling frustrated over how their negotiations have dragged on. Cherington encouraged fans to “express that frustration and continue to hold...
Pirates convince 2nd-round pick Jared Jones to skip scholarship to Texas and sign to go pro
Nine years ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates took a University of Texas recruit in the second round of the MLB Draft and gave him a record $5 million signing bonus to convince him to play pro baseball. That risk paid off when Josh Bell became an All-Star first baseman. The Pirates...
Baseball season in jeopardy as fight between owners, players gets uglierVideo
The MLB Players Association said it is “disgusted” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred backtracked from his assertion that there “unequivocally” would be a baseball season this summer, accusing the league of “negotiating in bad faith since the beginning.” When asked by ESPN if there was going to be a season in...
MLB economic standoff with union is giving baseball a black eye, shortchanging the fans
An economic battle that has given baseball a black eye saw negotiations between the owners and players reach an impasse Saturday night, leaving in limbo what the season will look like this summer. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred declared Wednesday night there will be baseball amid a global pandemic, but what...
With Nick Gonzales, Pirates have stockpiled surplus of shortstop talentVideo
It was no surprise when the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Nick Gonzales at No. 7 overall in the first round of the MLB Draft on Wednesday, given multiple mock drafts had them picking the New Mexico State star. When Gonzales was announced as a shortstop, however, it raised eyebrows. It’s a...
‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 79: Bill Fralic served pancakes with pleasure for Pitt
When it came to Bill Fralic’s blocking for the Pitt Panthers, there is no shortage of superlatives. A new statistic was coined, and a legendary offensive line coach gave a ringing endorsement. The Pancake Block was created in Fralic’s honor, for the ferocity with which he flattened defenders. The late...
‘Aptitude and athleticism’ as position players factors for Pirates in draft run on righty pitchers
The Pittsburgh Pirates remained steadfast late Thursday night that they had no intention of drafting a handful of right-handed pitchers who were converted position players or pulled double duty. It just happened to work out that way. “Not a particular demographic we were pursuing, the position-player-to-pitcher demographic, but it just...
Pirates pick another right-handed pitcher in 5th round in Northwestern State’s Logan Hofmann
With their final pick of the MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t pull any surprises. Once again, they went with a right-handed pitcher. The Pirates chose Logan Hofmann of Northwestern State on Thursday night in the fifth found (No. 138), giving them five righties in six picks. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound...
Pirates make a run on right-handed pitching on second day of MLB Draft
The Pittsburgh Pirates turned the second day of the MLB Draft into a run on right-handed pitching. After taking New Mexico State shortstop Nick Gonzales in the first round and South Carolina right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski in the competitive balance round Wednesday night, the Pirates on Thursday picked three consecutive righty...
Pirates pick Appalachian State reliever Jack Hartman in 4th round of MLB Draft
The Pittsburgh Pirates are making a run on right-handed pitching in the MLB Draft, taking their fourth consecutive by selecting Appalachian State senior reliever Jack Hartman in the fourth round (No. 108) on Thursday. “I’m speechless,” Hartman said in a statement released by Appalachian State. “I know that might sound...
Pirates pick Division III pitcher with ‘huge upside’ in Nick Garcia in 3rd round of MLB Draft
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected another right-handed pitcher when they took Nick Garcia of Chapman University (Calif.) with their third-round pick (No. 79) of the MLB Draft. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Garcia went 9-0 with a 0.64 ERA and recorded 12 saves as the closer on Chapman’s 2019 Division III national champion...
Pirates select Southern California H.S. pitcher Jared Jones in 2nd round of MLB Draft
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Southern California high school pitcher Jared Jones with their second-round pick (No. 44 overall) on Thursday in the MLB Draft. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound right-hander from La Mirada High School, a University of Texas recruit, has a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and a plus-slider but...
Movement on pitches makes Carmen Mlodzinski a high-ceiling prospect for Pirates
When Carmen Mlodzinski committed to South Carolina before his sophomore year of high school, he was a shortstop with a strong arm who was warned that he might end up on the mound. How Mlodzinski (pronounced Ma-gin-skee) became a pitcher who was a first-day draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates...
Pirates place premium on Cape Cod summer league success with first-day draft picks
The first round of their first MLB Draft together was lining up in a way that had Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington and his baseball operations staff feeling “really good.” The order of the picks wasn’t what they expected, as Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad went higher than expected at...
Pirates select South Carolina right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski with 31st pick in MLB Draft
With their second pick on the first day of the MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected college pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski of South Carolina 31st overall in the Competitive Balance Round A. With the 31st pick in the #MLBDraft, we have selected Carmen Mlodzinski from the University of South Carolina.Welcome to...
