Pirates announce they have relieved Derek Shelton of his duties, Don Kelly to take over
The Pirates announced on Thursday afternoon that they have relieved Manager Derek Shelton of his duties after five years.
"Derek worked incredibly hard and sacrificed a lot over five-plus years," said Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington. "His family became a big part of the Pirates family, and we will miss that. I believe he was the right person for the job when he was hired. I also believe that a change is now necessary. I wish Derek and his family all the best in their next chapter."
With Shelton relieved, the Pirates announced that Bench Coach Don Kelly has been named manager.
"I believe strongly Donnie is the right person to manage the team right now," Cherington added. "He has the skills and experience needed to do this job really well and deeply cares about the Pirates and Pittsburgh."
Kelly is in his sixth season a Pittsburgh's bench coach. Prior to joining the Pirates, the Pittsburgh native was the Houston Astros' first base coach in 2019.
"Derek is a good man who did a lot for the Pirates and Pittsburgh, but it was time for a change," Pirates Chairman Bob Nutting said. "There is a lot of baseball left to be played. We need to act with a sense of urgency and take the steps necessary to fix this now to get back on track as a team and organization."
In November 2019, the Pirates announced they had hired Shelton as the manager after he spent two seasons with the Minnesota Twins as a bench coach.
Pirates fans react to the firing of Derek Shelton
While the firing of Shelton has led some fans to feel optimistic about the Pirates' future, many feel the team's on-field struggles run deeper than the manager.
Shelton was fired 38 games into his sixth season, with the team holding the third-worst record in baseball. KDKA spoke to fans on the North Shore on Thursday.
Pirates fans glued to papal coverage might have missed the news Thursday.
"I heard the pope was in and then I heard Shelton was out," Joe Koromaus. "So, two good news at one time."
Koromaus has been waiting for Thursday's firing, saying the news brought him joy. He blames Shelton for the team having poor fundamentals.
"There's no expectations anymore," he said. "You go to the game because the park is great, to get some sandwiches, to talk. But that's about it."
Another fan, George Sedoris, said Pirates fans deserve more.
"Is there a way we can fire (owner Bob) Nutting?" he asked.
Not all fans were excited about the change.
"I like him," said Jeremy Freeman, who was with his son. "We met him down at spring training in Bradenton this spring, and he seemed like a nice guy. ... As manager, I think he did OK with what he had to work with."
His last point was a sentiment many, many fans shared.
"I just kind of feel like he was more of a scapegoat than anything," said Duke Winne.
"Maybe you get five more wins out of a great manager," another fan said.
"It is a start. I think (general manager Ben) Cherrington needs to go," Sedoris said.
Fans said they didn't take issue with the promotion of Don Kelly to manager.
"There's only going up, you can't get any lower," Koromaus said.
He thinks the season of change for Pittsburgh sports should not stop.
"I came up with this thing the other day, and I put it on Facebook," Koromaus said. "It's the trifecta. They fire the Penguins coach, and then today I find out they fired the Pirates coach, and now I'm looking for the third. That would be amazing."
Of course, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is the only major sports coach who hasn't been fired this year. But, unlike Shelton and Sullivan, Tomlin has never had a losing season.
