Kevin Gorman stories, Page 129
Twins help make Derek Shelton’s spring-training debut memorableVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — The first spring training game as Pittsburgh Pirates manager was a different feeling for Derek Shelton, a first that was humbling and humorous. That the Pirates’ Grapefruit League opener ended in a 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins at LECOM Park did little to dampen a day...
Kevin Gorman: Travis Williams set to steer Pirates toward chasing championship
BRADENTON, Fla. — When the Pittsburgh Pirates finished their fourth decade without a World Series championship, it became obvious they needed a change in direction. Firing the highest-ranking members of the front office and coaching staff was but a start. Changing the clubhouse culture after a 93-loss season is the...
Mitch Keller throws 2 scoreless innings, Pirates lose spring training opener to TwinsVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — Mitch Keller is competing for a spot in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting rotation, so throwing two scoreless innings was a good start for the spring training opener. That’s especially true after the 23-year-old right-hander, the team’s top pitching prospect, allowed 10 runs in four games and had...
Pirates unveil starting lineup for Derek Shelton’s 1st game in spring training opener
BRADENTON, Fla. — Derek Shelton makes his debut as Pittsburgh Pirates manager and unveiled the starting lineup for the Grapefruit League opener at 1:05 p.m. Saturday against the Minnesota Twins at LECOM Park. Guillermo Heredia will bat leadoff and play center field, followed by Bryan Reynolds as designated hitter, second...
Kevin Gorman: Derek Shelton hopes Bill Mazeroski’s magic rubs off on PiratesVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — Bill Mazeroski pressed his right fingertips against the palm of his glove hand, demonstrating the double-play pivot that he made so famous. The Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer shared the secret of the sleight-of-hand trick that allowed him to turn two faster than anyone who ever played...
Pirates to extend netting at PNC Park, LECOM Park
BRADENTON, Fla. — The Pittsburgh Pirates will extend the protective netting at PNC Park and LECOM Park to stretch nearly the length of the first and third base foul lines. A new netting system will extend to Section 1 down the first base line and to Section 32 down the...
After sitting out last spring, Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco excited for games to begin
BRADENTON, Fla. — Gregory Polanco is pumped about the start of spring training games, perhaps as much as or more than any member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The right fielder missed all of last spring while recovering from left shoulder surgery, so watching and waiting was one of the worst...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pirates cross paths in spring training, as foes become teammatesVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. – There is a big difference between spring-training stories and regular-season stories, and then there are times when they overlap and become unbelievable stories. Allow me to explain. A great spring training story last year was the return of Jung Ho Kang, who raised eyebrows (and hopes) by...
Kevin Gorman: Pulse of Pirates can beat with Bryan Reynolds, his big batVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. There’s an expression baseball coaches have for hitters like Bryan Reynolds, a compliment as much for his approach to the plate as for the simplicity of his swing. When talking about Reynolds, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton borrowed a phrase his predecessor, Clint Hurdle, liked to use: Slow...
Mitch Keller will start Grapefruit League opener for Pirates, a reunion for Derek SheltonVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton doesn’t want to take too much credit for naming Mitch Keller the starting pitcher for Saturday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Minnesota Twins at LECOM Park. “It’s the rotation of where Oscar has him slated,” Shelton said of pitching coach Oscar Marin....
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Baseball needs its best players to speak up like LeBron on scandalVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — LeBron James might not play baseball but the NBA icon has earned the respect of professional athletes for using his platform to speak up on social issues. When the Los Angeles Lakers star called out MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Twitter for his handling of the Houston...
Kevin Gorman: Joe Musgrove suffers in silence amid talk of Houston Astros’ tainted title
BRADENTON, Fla. Jameson Taillon held court with reporters Wednesday inside the clubhouse at Pirate City about MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s handling of the Houston Astros’ cheating scheme that led to a World Series championship. Joe Musgrove stood in silence at the next locker. It was indicative of how tricky the...
After heartbreaking injury and complicated surgery, Nick Burdi fighting for job with PiratesVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — Nick Burdi was nonchalant about being back on the mound Wednesday to throw live batting practice at Pirate City, considering what it took for him to get there. It wasn’t so much a monumental milestone to the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander as it was a stride toward normality...
Pirates’ Pablo Reyes suspended 80 games by MLB for using performance-enhancing drugs
BRADENTON, Fla. — Pittsburgh Pirates infielder-outfielder Pablo Reyes has been suspended 80 games without pay for using performance-enhancing drugs, Major League Baseball announced. Reyes tested positive for the anabolic steroid Boldenone, according to MLB.com reporter Adam Berry. MLB announced that Pirates INF/OF Pablo Reyes has received an 80-game suspension without...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: For Derek Shelton, having Pirates alums at spring training is ‘awesome’Video
BRADENTON, Fla. — A trio of World Series champions for the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates are familiar faces around Pirate City but their presence is profound for Derek Shelton. The new Pirates manager had one word for alums John Candelaria, Omar Moreno and Manny Sanguillen serving as special instructors at spring...
Confidence returns for Pirates reliever Kyle Crick after finding ‘huge tell’
BRADENTON, Fla. — Kyle Crick wants to put a forgettable season, one in which he faltered in a setup role and fractured his index finger in a fistfight, behind him. What might sound odd is the 27-year-old right-handed reliever is more confident than ever this spring training with the Pittsburgh...
Kevin Gorman: Miserable major-league debut fuels Mitch Keller to live up to expectationsVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. Mitch Keller can’t put his finger on what went wrong in a miserable major league debut when he gave up six hits, including a grand slam, and surrendered six runs in the first inning of a Memorial Day massacre at Cincinnati. It was painful to watch, even more...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pirates willing to give Erik Gonzalez a long look at third base
The Pittsburgh Pirates have failed to find a full-time starter at third base since Pedro Alvarez left the hot corner, trying Jung Ho Kang, David Freese and Colin Moran there to no avail. Where Freese was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the 2018 trade deadline, Kang bombed out...
Pirates bring smiles to All-Stars’ faces by hosting Miracle League fantasy campVideo
SARASOTA, Fla. — One by one, Pittsburgh Pirates players were introduced to cheers and claps. The rousing ovations, however, were reserved for the All-Star lineup they were there to honor. After their first full-squad workout of spring training at Pirate City, the Pirates hosted a fantasy camp Monday at the...
Kevin Gorman: Derek Shelton’s intentions get Pirates’ attention for first full-squad workoutVideo
RADENTON, Fla. Derek Shelton understood the magnitude of the moment for his speech before the first full-squad workout of his first spring training as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Now that he had their attention, he wanted their intentions. Shelton is sending a new, player-centric message to the team: He...
Pirates’ Adam Frazier wants to improve at plate after playing through pain in 2019Video
BRADENTON, Fla. – Adam Frazier revealed a secret that helps explain his inconsistency at the plate last season and gives an indication of his willingness to play through pain. The Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman broke his right index finger in spring training, then suffered a slight separation in his right...
Kevin Gorman: Making the majors a tall order for Pirates shortstop prospect Oneil CruzVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. – Things are looking up at shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, as top prospect Oneil Cruz is officially listed at 6-foot-7 after being measured at his physical exam. Cruz is the tallest position player at the major-league camp in spring training at Pirate City, and hopes to become...
Kevin Gorman: Jarrod Dyson is nothing if not completely candid when it comes to the Pirates
BRADENTON, Fla. — Jarrod Dyson was with the Pittsburgh Pirates for all of a day when he had the clubhouse cracking up, pulling a stack of scratch-off lottery tickets out of his leather backpack that fell to the floor like a Slinky. “I’m messing around, trying to hit the lotto...
Pirates’ Trevor Williams works on building strong foundation, adds new pitchVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — Trevor Williams dropped weight and got a new delivery in the offseason, a development he deadpanned had nothing to do with baseball. Instead, it was pure exhaustion. “It’s stress that’s taking the pounds off,” Williams said with a laugh, as his family expanded from three...
Kevin Gorman: Oscar Marin on mission to help Pirates pitchers understand analyticsVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. Oscar Marin is a man on a mission, one that looked impossible last summer: rescue and revive the pitching staff of the Pittsburgh Pirates. As pitching coach, the 37-year-old Marin has brought old-school values and new-age ideas to the Pirates in ways Ray Searage either couldn’t or wouldn’t....
