Pirates/MLB category, Page 230
Pirates player rep Jameson Taillon weighs in on MLB’s possible start datesVideo
Jameson Taillon was caught off guard when he learned of reports that MLB is preparing a return-to-play proposal to present to the MLB Players Association, but the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander and player representative found it refreshing to hear possible dates for the start of spring training and the season. Taillon...
VideoChart: MLB’s most career home runs since 1900Video
Our latest VideoChart shows the MLB’s top 10 career home run leaders from 1900 to 2020. Do you know which Pirates enter the ranks? Want to see more animated stats? Check out all of our VideoCharts here....
As MLB prepares return-to-play proposal with start dates, Pirates staying in ready state
As baseball prepares for the possibility of a return, with reports of target dates in early June to start spring training and early July to start playing games, the Pittsburgh Pirates are attempting to be in a sweet spot. That’s what Pirates general manager Ben Cherington called the “ready state”...
Pitt coaches donate $500,000 for covid-19 vaccine research; Pirates, Penguins, Steelers add pledge of $300,000
Three Pitt coaches, athletic director Heather Lyke and their families are leading an effort to pledge $800,000 in support of the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Vaccine Research, which is attempting to create a vaccine for the virus that causes covid-19. Coaches Pat Narduzzi (football), Jeff Capel (men’s basketball) and...
If MLB uses the DH in a shortened season, these five Pirates could be candidates
The Pittsburgh Pirates don’t know if or when they will play this summer, let alone what types of rule changes baseball will implement for a season shortened by the coronavirus crisis. MLB already plans to implement two major changes: Starting and relief pitchers must face a three-batter minimum; and rosters...
AP study: Pirates’ 2020 payroll lowest in the majors
NEW YORK — A study of MLB contracts resulted in a dubious distinction for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates are last in payroll at $54 million, the lowest in the majors in six seasons, according to research done by the Associated Press. The Yankees, who topped MLB’s payroll list for...
Pirates’ Derek Shelton: Watching KBO games get ‘juices flowing’
When it comes to watching baseball, Derek Shelton doesn’t care who is playing, let alone whether the players in the game speak the same language. The Pittsburgh Pirates manager jokes he has been known to watch the Caribbean World Series on ESPN, not that he can comprehend the majority of...
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...
John Steigerwald: Time to consider small-town venues for major league sports
Hit ’em where they ain’t. That was Wee Willie Keeler’s hitting philosophy. He played right field for the Yankees in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was one of the best hitters in baseball history and inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. Maybe Major League Baseball...
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,...
Almost a straight-A student, Clint Hurdle could have gone to Harvard
Clint Hurdle never went to college, but he was offered an academic scholarship to Harvard. “I was deeply intrigued about what it would be like to go to an Ivy League school and be a student,” Hurdle said. Hurdle, who managed the Pittsburgh Pirates for nine years, was a coveted...
Surrounded by family, Clint Hurdle goes back to school while embracing new life
He rises every morning around 6:30, just in time to watch the sun rise over Anna Maria Island on the Gulf Coast of Florida. “Sunrises are pretty magnificent here,” Clint Hurdle said. Life isn’t bad, either, for the only manager in 27 years to bring playoff baseball back to Pittsburgh....
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...
Josh Gibson’s legacy part of rich history of Negro Leagues, which turn 100 this year
Although legend says there are 800 home runs to back him up, Josh Gibson Jr. never claimed his father and namesake was the greatest baseball player of all-time. “He thought there was no need for him to do that,” Sean Gibson said. Sean Gibson is the great-grandson of Negro League...
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...
Ex-Pirates manager Clint Hurdle’s daily emails offer encouragement, inspiration
Clint Hurdle began sending his daily notes of inspiration more than 10 years ago, during his days managing the Colorado Rockies. They were a simple, small way of checking in with his staff to discuss leadership ideas, to offer support. The dozen colleagues would share something good from the week....
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...
Latrobe umpire Jansen Visconti waiting for MLB to startVideo
If Jansen Visconti had his way, he’d be calling balls and strikes in Chicago on Monday instead of fishing for trout on Fourmile Run in Ligonier. Fishing is a new sport Visconti has picked up since MLB shut down the 2020 season March 13 because of the Coronavirus. Who knows...
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...
