Pittsburgh Pirates turn to Carbondale native, former Salukis catcher as new manager
Derek Shelton, born and raised in Carbondale and a standout catcher for the Southern Illinois University Salukis, was hired as the new manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The team announced the hiring on Wednesday. Shelton replaces Clint Hurdle, who was fired on the final day of the season following a second-half collapse that dropped the Pirates to a last-place finish in the NL Central.
“My family and I are thrilled to have the opportunity to join the Pittsburgh community and are humbled to be a part of this storied franchise,” Shelton told the Associated Press. “One of the most exciting things for me during the interview process was just how evident the passion for Pittsburgh and the desire to succeed was with everyone I interacted with.”
The 49-year-old Shelton spent the last two seasons as the bench coach for the Minnesota Twins. Shelton’s previous stops include a season as the quality control coach for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2017 and seven years as a hitting coach with the Tampa Bay Rays. Shelton broke into the majors as hitting coach for the Cleveland Indians from 2005-09.
Shelton’s managerial experience is limited to minor league stints in the Yankees’ organization in the early 2000s, but he amassed a winning percentage of .624 and two league championships over three seasons. He also played parts of two seasons in the Yankees organization, retiring after the 1993 season despite a .341 average in 46 games.
He was a four-year letter winner at SIU (1989-92) and led the Salukis to an Missouri Valley Conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 1990. Shelton earned the 1992 Abe Martin Award, given to the Saluki player who best exemplified honesty, leadership, excellence, dedication and loyalty on and off the field.
The move completes a leadership overhaul for the Pirates. The team hired Travis Williams as president in October and Ben Cherington as general manager this month.
Shelton inherits a team that finished below .500 in three of the last four seasons, though the on-field product during a miserable 25-48 second half proved to be just part of Pittsburgh’s issues.
Relievers Keone Kela and Kyle Crick were suspended for their roles in separate dust-ups with members of the team’s coaching and support staff. All-Star closer Felipe Rivera was arrested in September on felony charges stemming from an alleged illegal sexual relationship with a minor.
“It is going to be an exciting change of culture in our clubhouse. It is going to be a fun environment in which we will all be held accountable to each other,” Shelton said. “It will be a player-centric culture built on strong communication and relationships with our players, our staff and the entire organization. We will begin to establish those relationships this offseason prior to coming together as a team in Bradenton this February.”
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 1:12 PM.
