Pirates/MLB category, Page 225
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pirates ready to follow protocol, play ball as camp starts at PNC Park
This will be a baseball season of so many firsts, especially with the Pittsburgh Pirates having a new team president, general manager and field manager preparing for a 60-game regular season with the universal designated hitter and an extra-innings rule. But their first focus is on a second edition of...
Pirates manager Derek Shelton took time to ‘listen to our players’ about social justice issues
Derek Shelton waited two decades to become a major league manager, only to have his Pittsburgh Pirates managerial debut delayed by the coronavirus crisis. As the Pirates are about to embark on a second spring training — this one dubbed by MLB as Summer Camp — Shelton was asked to...
Ex-Pirate Bobby Bonilla still outearns some notable Major League Baseball playersVideo
Former Pirate Bobby Bonilla hasn’t played in the major leagues since 2001, when he suited up for the Cardinals. But he’s still collecting a check — $1,193,248.20 every July 1, per his buyout agreement with the New York Mets in 2000. It’s known derisively as Bobby Bonilla Day. The agreement...
Pirates manager Derek Shelton ‘fired up’ to see baseball activity at PNC Park as players report
It’s not quite baseball in a bubble, but Derek Shelton on Wednesday got his first chance to watch players work out at PNC Park as Pittsburgh Pirates manager. As Pirates players are in the process of reporting for summer camp, the three-week preparation period for the 60-game regular season, Shelton...
Mark Madden: No need to panic about players opting out amid covid-19 concerns
Babe Ruth was baseball’s biggest gate attraction ever. The New York Yankees built a 58,000-seat stadium to accommodate that. Ruth’s slugging and larger-than-life charisma saved MLB after the Chicago White Sox threw the 1919 World Series. Ruth retired in 1935. Baseball kept playing. People kept watching. It’s a business worth...
First Call: Antonio Brown, Tom Brady rumors in Tampa bubble up. Happy Bobby Bonilla Day!
In Wednesday’s “First Call,” we look at some rebooted rumors about Antonio Brown going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Former Steelers legend Rod Woodson has an interesting take on how the coaching world works. And Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is ready for the Cam Newton era in New England....
Pirates’ 2019 first-round pick Quinn Priester promises to make most of his summer in limbo
On the eve of the Pittsburgh Pirates reporting to PNC Park for Summer Camp to train for the 2020 season, Quinn Priester was driving to Wisconsin for a Fourth of July weekend getaway. When the Pirates didn’t include their 2019 first-round pick and top-five prospect on the 60-man roster Sunday...
Minor League Baseball season canceled for 2020
Hopes for Minor League Baseball in 2020 officially ended Tuesday as Major League Baseball announced that it will not provide its affiliated teams with players amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The move affects more than 150 such clubs, including Pittsburgh Pirates affiliates in Indianapolis (Class AAA) and Altoona (Class AA)....
Do Pirates have a real DH? Or do they really have too many of them?
At least for the time being, it feels like we can talk about actual on-field baseball in Pittsburgh. The Pirates are supposed to start workouts at PNC Park this week, with Major League games resuming July 23. So — while we can before any more shutdowns — let’s talk about...
Tim Benz: Steelers ‘optimistic’ fans will be in Heinz Field this fall
The Pittsburgh Steelers are still holding out hope that they will be able to play home games in front of their fans during the 2020 season. Last week, The Athletic’s Daniel Kaplan wrote that the NFL is going to allow teams an opportunity to work out their own seating volume...
Pirates Steven Brault, Josh Bell hope to hit high note off the field, too
Pittsburgh Pirates players Steven Brault and Josh Bell will resume their baseball careers this week at PNC Park, but during the covid-19 break, they showed off another skill in a recording studio. Brault and Bell joined former players Ozzie Smith, Bernie Williams and Nick Swisher and Sharon Robinson, daughter of...
Pirates sign 4th-round draft choice Jack Hartman
The Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday signed right-handed relief pitcher Jack Hartman, the team’s fourth-round selection (108th overall) in the 2020 draft. Hartman was 1-0 with four saves, a 3.00 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 10 appearances (12 innings) at Appalachian (N.C.) State. He is one of four right-handed pitchers the...
Odds on another Pirates/Yankees World Series: 300/1
If you believe anything’s possible in a 60-game baseball season, you can bet on World Series matchups involving the Pittsburgh Pirates. With fresh enthusiasm generated by first-year manager Derek Shelton, the Pirates resume camp at PNC Park on Wednesday in preparation for the first game in about three weeks. BetOnline.ag...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Taking a look at the top position battles for Pirates training camp
When Ben Cherington submitted the 60-man training camp roster to MLB, the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager turned in only 59 names because of the late development of reliever Edgar Santana’s suspension. In truth, the Pirates actually have 38 players competing for a job on the 30-man Opening Day roster that...
Pirates include top position prospects Ke’Bryan Hayes, Cole Tucker on training camp rosterVideo
The Pittsburgh Pirates set their 60-man roster for the shortened season Sunday afternoon, despite a surprise suspension, and notable names were missing from the major league roster and taxi squad. The 39 players who will report to training camp starting Wednesday at PNC Park included top position prospects in third...
Pirates’ Edgar Santana suspended 80 games for positive PED test
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Edgar Santana has been suspended for 80 games, without pay, after testing positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance, in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Santana, 28, missed the entire 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery at the end of 2018....
How Logan Hofmann defied odds and bet on himself to become Pirates’ 5th-round pick
Logan Hofmann never wanted to be known as the short pitcher from the small town, but as a 5-foot-9 right-hander who was raised in Muenster, Saskatchewan (population: 430), he proudly owns it. Well, mostly. “I’m listed at 5-10,” Hofmann said, “because it looks a little better on the roster.” His...
Pirates continuing restructuring, laying off 15 members of baseball operations department
The Pittsburgh Pirates had another round of layoffs on Friday, this time letting go 15 members of the baseball operations staff in a restructuring of the department, a source confirmed to the Tribune-Review. The employees were informed they would not be involved in the organizational plans following this season, so...
From ‘fringy’ to fabulous, one tool turned Pirates 1st-round pick Nick Gonzales into the NCAA batting champ
Many Pirates fans have become familiar with the story of Pirates first-round draft choice Nick Gonzales. From underrecruited walk-on at New Mexico State to NCAA batting champ to Cape Cod League MVP to seventh overall pick in the MLB draft in just three years. But his former coach at New...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Predicting the Pirates’ 30-man roster and taxi squad
If you listened to Derek Shelton’s weekly appearance on 93.7 FM, the Pittsburgh Pirates manager dropped a bit of a bombshell when he discussed potential designated hitters. Oh, Shelton has warned us before that he has no plans to designate one player as DH, as much as that might be...
MLB rule changes give new Pirates manager Derek Shelton flexibility with pitching staff, DH
Now that MLB has decided to play a 60-game season featuring regional matchups, new Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton is switching his strategy from a marathon to a sprint and preparing for rule changes. Shelton believes that benefits him, given the Pirates will be playing opponents from the NL Central...
Lawyer for suspended Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez says evidence of child sex assault should be thrown out
The lawyer for suspended Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez said evidence collected by police during an investigation into sexual assault allegations were the product of an illegal search and should be barred from use by prosecutors in an upcoming trial. Vazquez, 28, has been in jail since September, when he...
Pirates let go more than 2 dozen employees in restructuring of business operations
In a move made to restructure the business operations of the organization under new leadership, the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday laid off more than two dozen employees, including select department heads, a source told the Tribune-Review. The decision to make staff changes came just two days after MLB and its...
Pirate Parrot, other MLB mascots now permitted in parks
Pirate Parrot, phenomenal. Mr. Met and Mariner Moose, marvelous. Wally the Green Monster, welcome back. Mascots are getting a reprieve from Major League Baseball. A month after being tossed out of stadiums because of health concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, the fuzzy and funny creatures will return as inside-the-parkers. “The...
Pirates to use Altoona Curve stadium as alternate training facility
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Thursday that Peoples Natural Gas Field, home of their Double-A affiliate, the Altoona Curve, will be used an alternate training facility this season. “The Pirates organization is appreciative of the longstanding relationship we have had for over two decades with the Altoona Curve,” Pirates general manager...
