BRADENTON, Fla. — Maybe one day Derek Shelton will write a book about this. At minimum, it surely has helped the Pirates manager’s bourbon consumption — not that he really needed a ton of motivation there. But since Shelton was hired, think about what the man has experienced in Pittsburgh.
COVID-19 shortening the 2020 season to 60 games and delaying its start until July thanks to spring training sites being shut down a couple months prior. Managing with the designated hitter that season, without it in 2021, then having it back for 2022. And now, for Shelton’s latest trick, he gets a whopping four days to ready the Pirates to play a spring training game Friday, the result of MLB’s 99-day lockout.
Oh, and he couldn’t have any contact with his players for much of the offseason.
“I really don’t know what normalcy is any more,” Shelton said Tuesday at LECOM Park.
Maybe, honestly, that has become Shelton’s brand: a regular guy, one eager to embrace the city in which he works, and who has experienced a litany of abnormal things. Also, give Shelton credit, the guy refuses to complain about any of it.
While reflecting on all he’s experienced, Shelton said he believes the ups and downs have made him a better manager. They’ve certainly kept him better informed and taught him the importance of staying nimble.
“I do think it’s personally made me better,” Shelton said. “Like we talked about during the 2020 season through COVID, I got to sit in on a lot of baseball operations conversations. This winter, [general manager] Ben [Cherington] and I were able to go to the Dominican together because we couldn’t talk to players. We were able to spend six days down there. I think it’s maybe broadened my skill set.”
Shelton’s ducking, diving and dodging — his words and a terrific reference to the movie “Dodgeball” — even included his own bout with COVID-19 over the holidays. But having to get creative, whether because of limited contact with players, not knowing when things might start, or both, Shelton has seemingly gotten pretty good at taking things in stride.
Even Tuesday, as Shelton faces a pretty sizable time crunch, his second in-person interview since the pandemic hit (first was this past December after the Pirates announced coaching staff changes) struck a significantly more relaxed tone, with Shelton’s quick wit and playful personality poking through.
“I would say third base and center field are pretty much secure,” Shelton deadpanned, referencing Ke’Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds.
“It’s probably the one time I’ve been a big fan of social media,” Shelton quipped when asked about a video on Twitter of Mitch Keller throwing 100 mph.
“I know Greg Brown is probably gonna be the most angry man in Pittsburgh,” Shelton cracked, a nod to the Pirates’ DH-detesting play-by-play man.
The interaction was a refreshing middle finger to Zoom and how much it ruins personal interactions, but it also showcased Shelton’s apparent ability to find comfort during uncomfortable situations.
Or Pirates fans should hope, anyway.
“The one thing we’ve looked at as a group is how we can get better and what forces us to get better,” Shelton said. “The fact that we’ve had to adapt and adjust, and now we have three days and play a game ... We have looked at it like, ‘We need to figure out how we’re going to facilitate this, how we’re gonna get better every day and most important right now, how we’re gonna stay healthy.’”
As for other topics Shelton discussed:
• He was sporting an ear-to-ear smile when asked about Cherington signing Roberto Perez to replace Jacob Stallings.
“That was huge,” Shelton said. “After we traded [Jacob Stallings], we needed someone who could solidify our group. We’re talking about a guy with multiple Gold Gloves who has caught some of the best pitchers in the game over the past 10 years. It was extremely important for us.”
• With a compressed spring training schedule, Shelton said he might get even more creative with pitcher usage. And in case you’ve been living under a rock since 2020 — nice work, by the way — Shelton tends to make a lot of pitching changes.
“We’ll definitely be more fungible,” Shelton said. “I think you know that I like to do that.”
The biggest concern with pitching right now for Shelton is the northerners throwing outdoors and wearing spikes, believing there can be an adjustment process there that can sometimes impact arms.
But the bigger point, aside from health, is putting pitchers in positions where they can find advantageous matchups, a Tampa Bay Rays-way of doing things.
“You know I like to be creative with that,” Shelton added, smiling again.
• The news of the day involved the free agent signings of first baseman/designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach and reliever Heath Hembree. Shelton talked about both and added that we’ll probably see a lot of Vogelbach and Yoshi Tsutsugo at first base and DH.
“Can swing the bat,” Shelton said of Vogelbach. “Unbelievable guy in the clubhouse. We’ve seen Hembree pitch at different parts of the game. And as we’ve talked about, we need to add arms to our bullpen. I was excited to get Heath in here.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: March 15, 2022, 7:51 p.m.