Pirates/MLB category, Page 227
Tim Benz: Congrats, MLB! You’ve somehow made me enraged at my own apathy.
I’m angry about my lack of anger at Major League Baseball. Does that make any sense? On Monday night, I watched MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on ESPN. He was attempting to tap dance through an explanation over the game’s flailing attempt to reboot from the covid-19 shutdown. He did so...
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...
First Call: Lamar Jackson vs. a jet ski, NHL hub city sleeper, Pirates’ Jameson Taillon lashes out
Tuesday’s “First Call” looks at Lamar Jackson’s sand football/jet ski mishap. Belief in the Browns. And an update on the NHL hub city discussion. This must’ve gone over big in Baltimore How quickly do you think John Harbaugh passed out after watching this? First of all, it’s star quarterback Lamar...
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...
Madden Monday: Which sport will return as close to normal as possible?; John Harbaugh’s complaints
The NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball are all in various states of uncertainty regarding potential returns to play. In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden and I discuss which league is most likely to return in a form familiar to its viewers. I say it’s the NBA. That...
John Steigerwald: Pirates erred in not drafting West Allegheny’s Austin Hendrick
Austin Hendrick may come back to haunt the Pirates. He’s the outfielder from West Allegheny who they didn’t take with the seventh pick in the MLB Draft on Wednesday. By all accounts, the Pirates had a good draft, but everybody knows it’s a crapshoot, especially when you take a high...
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...
‘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...
New Pirate Carmen Mlodzinski: Old school. Old soul. No to Twitter. Yes to Rock N’ Roll.
New Pittsburgh Pirates draft choice Carmen Mlodzinski is just your typical 21-year-old. No Twitter. No Instagram. Listens to Led Zeppelin, Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots. Doesn’t play video games. Prefers baseball, golf and playing guitar. Like I said, a typical 21-year-old. If he was 21 back...
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’ Nick Gonzales went from college walk-on to 1st-round pick
Loud, stern and impactful, three words flew from Mike Gonzales’ lips to his son’s ears. “Swing the bat,” Gonzales shouted. Which is strange because there is nothing Nick Gonzales, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2020 first-round draft choice, likes more than swinging a baseball bat. That was especially true during that 2017...
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...
Pirates pick New Mexico State shortstop Nick Gonzales in 1st round of MLB DraftVideo
Nick Gonzales knew that multiple mock drafts predicted the Pittsburgh Pirates would take him in the first round of the MLB Draft, and it started to feel real when he saw a photoshopped image of him in a Pirates uniform. When the New Mexico State middle infielder was still on...
Major League Baseball ump Angel Hernandez accused of eavesdropping on investigative callVideo
An umpire who has been in the spotlight for controversial calls, as well as for his lawsuit against MLB claiming racial discrimination, is being accused of eavesdropping on an investigative call with MLB officials. During a phone interview over rules confusion and a 14-minute delay during a game between the...
Pirates release 39 minor league players, including Jake Elmore, in cost-cutting move
Hours before the MLB Draft on Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates released 39 minor league players in a cost-cutting move. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington warned last week that cuts were coming, a result of anticipated contraction of minor league teams and the likelihood there won’t be a full minor league...
For Pirates, top-10 picks have been mixed bag of blessings, curses over past two decades
The Pittsburgh Pirates have the No. 7 overall pick in the MLB Draft, and it’s the first chance for Ben Cherington to make his mark as general manager in a way that predecessors David Littlefield and Neal Huntington couldn’t. If the past two decades for the Pirates are any indication,...
Former, current Pittsburgh athletes lend support in Player Coalition letter to Congress
Chris Archer and Steve Nelson are among two dozen former or current professional athletes with ties to Pittsburgh that are supporting the Players Coalition’s effort to end qualified immunity for police officers and government officials. The Players Coalition gathered more than 1,400 signatures from athletes representing the NFL, NBA and...
First Call: Great Pittsburgh draft picks — not as obvious as Mario Lemieux
Wednesday’s “First Call” was inspired by the flashbacks so many were dedicating to Mario Lemieux. Tuesday was the anniversary of his draft selection by the Pittsburgh Penguins back in 1984. And that got me thinking of how many home runs the Penguins hit with their high draft choices. If you...
