Kevin Gorman stories, Page 130
Pirates manager Derek Shelton: ‘Getting back to baseball is going to help us on a larger scale’
Derek Shelton considers himself an optimist by nature, so the Pittsburgh Pirates manager is pushing a positive narrative that baseball will be back this summer. No matter what it takes. As MLB examines safe ways to play the 2020 season amid the coronavirus crisis, Shelton believes finding a way to...
Pirates GM Ben Cherington: Team is going to be ‘flexible’ about spring training site
General manager Ben Cherington said the Pittsburgh Pirates are going to be “flexible” about the site of a potential spring training and are “comforted” by the level of attention state government officials are giving toward plans to reopen businesses. Cherington made the comments during a 22-minute guest appearance with Bucco...
Retired Pirates broadcaster Steve Blass learning to adjust to life without baseball
Steve Blass retired from the Pittsburgh Pirates broadcast booth to enjoy life away from baseball. What Blass wasn’t expecting is life without baseball. Blass, 78, had no way of knowing or preparing for the MLB season to be suspended amid the coronavirus crisis, let alone that he and his wife,...
Pittsburgh sports remain weeks away from playing in front of fans under state’s reopening plan
The return of the Penguins and Pirates playing before fans in Pittsburgh remains at least weeks away after state officals announced that Allegheny County and most of Southwestern Pennsylvania will remain in the red phase of the reopening process. Although two dozen northern counties will move to the yellow phase...
In downtime before MLB Draft, more Pirates scouts are getting a long look at prospects
Ben Cherington doesn’t know the exact date of the 2020 MLB Draft, how many rounds it will last or what a virtual draft will look like. One thing the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager knows for sure, however, is his scouting department has prepared for it like never before. With the...
Pirates GM Ben Cherington plans to seek out Steelers for tips on conducting virtual draftVideo
Ben Cherington watched the NFL Draft with keen interest, not because of his football fandom but rather to “get a flavor” for the setting for a virtual draft. The Pittsburgh Pirates general manager hopes to pick the brains of the Steelers’ front office personnel sometime before the MLB Draft in...
Pirates offer refund options for tickets
In a letter to season and individual ticket holders, Pittsburgh Pirates president Travis Williams offered optimism baseball will return this summer and that the club will play home games in its own stadium. “We feel strongly that we will play games this season,” Williams wrote in a letter released by...
Steel City Brand to launch T-shirt collection celebrating legacy of Roberto Clemente
A Pittsburgh-based clothing company will be honoring Roberto Clemente next month with a collection of T-shirts featuring artwork images of the Pittsburgh Pirates great. Steel City Brand collaborated with Roberto Clemente Jr. and his wife, Kailee, on the clothing line. The coronavirus crisis slowed production, so the company is planning...
MLB-proposed East division could be daunting for Pirates but preferable to playing in Florida
Baseball is contemplating a comeback, one that would scrap the traditional American and National leagues for the 2020 season in favor of a more geographical and travel-friendly setup. The new normal is anything but. MLB has explored multiple options, with the latest splitting teams into three 10-team divisions for a...
Pirates GM Ben Cherington: ‘I wake up every day believing we are going to play games’Video
Ben Cherington is planning for the possibility that MLB will play a regular season in 2020. What the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager doesn’t know is when, where or how. One thing is certain: He isn’t dwelling on doomsday scenarios. “I wake up every day believing we are going to play...
Pirates become 1st MLB team to suspend retirement benefits for baseball operation staffVideo
The Pittsburgh Pirates became the first known MLB team to suspend retirement benefits for baseball operations employees in a cost-cutting reaction to save jobs amid the coronavirus crisis. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington confirmed Tuesday afternoon a report by The Athletic that the club has suspended 401(k) contributions in an...
Trevor Williams teams up with Pirates Charities for $30,000 donation for Food Bank drive
Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams is teaming up with Pirates Charities for a $30,000 contribution to fund a drive-up food distribution with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. The donation is being made through the Home Plate Project, an MLB-wide initiative in partnership with Garth Brooks’ Teammates for Kids Foundation and...
Pirates find welcome distraction in communicating through social media videosVideo
During the downtime of quarantine amid the coronavirus crisis, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton has taken a deep dive into the rabbit hole of watching videos on social media. Granted, many of them are of major league baseball players showing ingenuity in practicing their craft, from one hitter taking batting...
David ‘Rooster’ Fleming: Hazelwood legend, CFL star signed with Steelers out of high school
Rooster Fleming would have been a Hazelwood legend — if not for his cocksure nickname then for signing straight out of Gladstone High School to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rooster befriended Paul Martha and roomed with Joe Namath, scored on a record 108-yard touchdown and won weightlifting competitions into...
If and when baseball returns, Pirates manager Derek Shelton plans to ‘cherish’ his debut
As MLB contemplates ideas of how to conduct its 2020 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates are preparing for the possibility of playing games sometime this summer. Even if that means Pirates manager Derek Shelton’s major-league regular-season managerial debut could come in an otherwise empty stadium instead of before baseball fans. “Honestly,...
Pirates ‘very encouraged’ by progress of right fielder Gregory Polanco’s shoulderVideo
The Pittsburgh Pirates are monitoring the recovery of right fielder Gregory Polanco through social media and are “very encouraged” with the progress of his left shoulder. Todd Tomczyk, the Pirates’ director of sports medicine, was optimistic about Polanco’s progress in a conference call with Pittsburgh reporters Wednesday afternoon. Polanco’s 2018...
Derek Shelton needs no reminder that Pirates aren’t playing, only a look at his phone
Derek Shelton doesn’t need a reminder that he’s missing his first season as a major-league manager. He gets one every day. The Pittsburgh Pirates first-year manager still has the regular-season schedule set up on his phone, so he receives daily notifications of what he’s missing because of the coronavirus. “How...
Pirates in predicament of paying employees but possibly reducing salaries
With no set return for baseball in sight amid the coronavirus crisis and despite MLB commissioner Rob Manfred giving teams the green light to furlough or lay off employees, the Pittsburgh Pirates committed Tuesday to pay their baseball operations staff through May. Pirates president Travis Williams announced the club is...
Pirates manager Derek Shelton ‘more than happy’ to take pay cut to help team sustain
If the Pittsburgh Pirates resort to reducing the salaries of their highest-paid employees, Derek Shelton is on board with taking a hit for the team before he ever manages a major-league game. Shelton commended Pirates president Travis Williams and general manager Ben Cherington for being “extremely clear” with how they...
Pirates to pay baseball staff through May, exploring possibility of tiered salary reductions
The Pittsburgh Pirates will pay baseball operations staff through May 31 and are exploring the possibility of tiered salary reductions for their most highly compensated employees. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported that the Pirates would pay employees through at least May 31 while the sport is shut down amid...
Rare Honus Wagner rookie card sells for a record $192,000 at online auction
A rare Honus Wagner rookie baseball card, one with a photo of the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame shortstop dressed in a suit, was auctioned Sunday night to a private collector for $192,000. The card was one of two issued in the W600 Sporting Life cabinet cards series, with the...
Amid coronavirus crisis, Pirates donate $50,000 to Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
The MLB spring training and season have been halted by the coronavirus pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped the Pittsburgh Pirates from giving back to those in need. The Pirates and Pirates Charities announced on Friday a $50,000 donation to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, a nonprofit organization that distributes...
Kevin Gorman: Dorin Dickerson warns Bucs that key to playing with Tom Brady is doing things how he wants
Dorin Dickerson doesn’t have to wonder what Tampa Bay Buccaneers skill players are about to experience with Tom Brady as their quarterback. If you want to know what it’s like, the former West Allegheny and Pitt All-American can offer his advice after playing with Brady: “Don’t be a machine. Just...
New owner trying to keep Sunseri Pizza afloat amid coronavirus crisisVideo
Chris Staub loved working at Sunseri Pizza while he was in high school and college, dreaming that one day he would own the small business on Custer Avenue in Baldwin. When former owners Sam and Cindy Sunseri put the pizza shop up for sale, Staub couldn’t resist the opportunity. After...
Kevin Gorman: Tom Brady in Tampa Bay? Another 6th-round QB sees a good fit
With Tom Brady likely headed to Tampa Bay, I found the perfect person to relate to what it’s like to be a former sixth-round pick who played quarterback for the Buccaneers. Where Brady was the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, Bruce Gradkowski was...
