Pirates 1B John Nogowski makes strong 1st impression in starting debut

After a week in which his major-league career was placed on hold and he wondered where he would play next, John Nogowski wanted to make a positive first impression on the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pirates wasted no time to see what Nogowski could do, starting him at first base and batting him fifth Monday night against the Atlanta Braves only two days after acquiring the player nicknamed “NoGo” or the “Big Nogowski” from the St. Louis Cardinals in a trade for cash considerations.

“Any time you have eyes on you for the first time, you want to show them what you can do right off the bat,” Nogowski said. “There’s plenty of pressure playing this game, whether it’s your first impression or you’ve been here for four or five years.

“The big thing for me is just to try to take every at-bat separately and try to be productive. If I’m productive, they’re gonna find a spot for me, whether that’s going to the outfield or first base.”

Nogowski was still trying to memorize the names of his new teammates when he went 2 for 4 with three runs and an RBI single in his Pirates debut, an 11-1 win over the Braves. Perhaps most impressive is the 11-pitch walk he drew in the fourth inning against Braves starter Max Fried, which earned praise from Pirates manager Derek Shelton.

Welcome to Pittsburgh John Nogowski!#TheBigNogowski drive in his first 2 runs as a Bucco, and the @Pirates lead the Braves 6-1 in the 6th on AT&TSportsNet! pic.twitter.com/CwssHuiG1j

— AT&T SportsNet™ PIT (@ATTSportsNetPIT) July 6, 2021

“I think we knew coming into it, he really controlled the zone,” Shelton said. “He went 0-2 to 4-2 on an 11-pitch at-bat. That’s not easy to do. Base hit, did a nice job defensively.

“Yeah, a really nice debut for him, especially a credit to this kid.

“He hadn’t played in a week. The only thing he’s done is take ground balls and hit in the cage in Tallahassee. So for him to come out and have that debut, it was kind of nice.”

Nogowski, 28, returned to Tallahassee after being designated for assignment by the Cardinals on June 28. He spent his downtime working out at his old high school, fielding grounders and hitting in the batting cage with his father, John Sr., who doubles as his hitting coach.

They checked MLB roster moves and depth charts, following trade rumors to see where Nogowski could end up playing. They knew that Pittsburgh was a possibility because of depth issues after injuries to first baseman Colin Moran and utility infielder Erik Gonzalez.

“You try and read the tea leaves a little bit from time to time,” Nogowski said, “but that also sends you down some rabbit holes.”

The 6-foot, 245-pound Nogowski, who bats right and throws left, had been through it before. After being released by the Oakland A’s in 2017 — which he called a “wild” year — Nogowski played for the independent Sioux City (Iowa) Explorers, batting .402 in 32 games, before being signed by the Cardinals. After a strong season in Double-A, he played in the Arizona Fall League but didn’t earn an invitation to spring training.

Over the next two seasons, Nogowski proved he could hit for average and power while playing strong defense at first base. He batted .309/.392/.463 with 12 homers and 61 RBIs at Double-A Springfield in 2018, then hit .295/.413/.476 with 15 homers and 75 RBIs with Triple-A Memphis in 2019.

“It shows how quickly it can happen and what an opportunity does,” Nogowski said. “You get your opportunity with the Cardinals, and you kind of take off and you grab it. Hopefully, this is kind of a similar opportunity for me here.”

Nogowski didn’t get many opportunities in St. Louis, where All-Star Paul Goldschmidt had a stronghold on the starting job at first base. Nogowski made the Opening Day roster this year but said he fractured his hand in two places when he was hit by a pitch on April 7 at Miami.

After going up and down from the majors to the minors and making 14 of his 18 plate appearances as a pinch hitter this season — getting a single, a walk and a strikeout — all Nogowski wanted was a fair chance to show what he could do.

“I’m just excited to come here and get the opportunity to show what I can do and get more than one at-bat against a tough right-handed reliever,” Nogowski said. “Come in and get some starts and play great defense, run bases, do all that stuff that kinda makes me valuable, in my opinion, makes me a good player and helps the team win.”

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington emphasized Nogowki’s ability to make “really good swing decisions” at the plate, so getting on base was a good start. After getting down 0-2 in the count against Fried in the fourth inning, Nogowski fouled off six pitches before drawing a full-count walk. Ben Gamel followed with a two-run homer that gave the Pirates their first lead.

“I just wanted to make him make a really good pitch to get me out,” Nogowski said. “I just kept battling. He didn’t make a mistake, did not give in until that final 11th pitch, kind of lost a breaking ball up high. That was big. That’s the kind of at-bats I’m used to having, trying to grind out at-bats and wear that guy down and get his pitch count up, especially in the first game of the series we get to the ‘pen early.”

Nogowski singled to left in the sixth to drive in a run and went opposite field for another single in the seventh. Gamel followed with a three-run homer, part of his six-RBI night.

“That’s how you make some friends,” Nogowski said, “get on base for them.”

Nogowski certainly made a strong first impression on Gamel and the Pirates, who moved him to right field for the ninth inning when Phillip Evans went into concussion protocol.

“It was awesome,” Gamel said of Nogowski. “Guy saw pitches, found barrels, got on base. That’s all we can ask.”