Derek Shelton Officially Named Pirates Manager

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a new skipper.

Derek Shelton, the former bench coach for the Minnesota Twins, was hired as manager per an official team statement made by Pirates general manager Ben Cherington.

“I have known Derek for more than 15 years and have great admiration for his passion for the game and players, work ethic, curiosity, and desire to learn,” Cherington said. “He has worked and learned from some of the best in the game, and in turn has helped players and colleagues learn and improve during his 20 years of coaching and managing.

“We are confident Derek will help lead an elite playing and coaching environment at the Major League level and be a true partner to all of baseball operations as we challenge each other to get better every day ... We are thrilled to get to work with Derek and continue building toward a winning team in Pittsburgh.”

Shelton’s name had been in the manager hunt mix almost from the moment Clint Hurdle was fired on September twenty-ninth. This is the 49-year-old’s first major league managerial job, but he has extensive coaching experience with the Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians, as well as having successfully managed in the New York Yankees’ farm system.

“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 said in his own statement. “It is going to be a fun environment in which we will all be held accountable to each other. It will be a player-centric culture built on strong communication and relationships with our players, our staff and the entire organization.”