Since the calendar turned to June, Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Rowdy Tellez has been one of baseball’s hot hitters. After a miserable stretch that saw Tellez hit .145/.182/.181 with just two RBI from April 16 through May 31, suddenly Tellez is 9-for-17 in June. While Luis Arráez isn’t worried about the competition for the batting title, since June began, Tellez has raised his average from .177 to .218. Saturday’s home run against the Minnesota Twins was his first in 134 at-bats, a career-long homerless drought.
Come, Writers and Critics
Before Tellez got hot, the Pirates had quite a dilemma. Boos rained down from the stands at PNC Park whenever Tellez came up to bat. They got louder whenever he made an out. He was a sucker for pitches that broke down and in, waving at them helplessly, often after looking at fastballs down the middle of the plate. Critics in the media were relentless.
On April 9, Tellez came to the defense of All-Star closer David Bednar, who was booed mercilessly by Pirates fans after blowing a save. “This is the pride of Pittsburgh,” Tellez told the assembled media. “We don’t do that out here.” Fans and even media members later referred to this moment and twisted his words to mean Pirates fans should never boo anybody. It placed an even bigger target on Tellez’s back.
General manager Ben Cherington and manager Derek Shelton kept the faith. They were familiar with Tellez from their time with the Toronto Blue Jays, who drafted him in 2013. Cherington was Toronto’s vice president of baseball operations from 2016-19. Shelton was their quality control coach in 2017. On Saturday, Cherington conducted his once-per-homestand meeting with the press. The inevitable question came up: How long will the Pirates stick with Tellez?
“We believe a breakout is coming,” said Cherington.
Too bad it was too late to get his pick in the Belmont Stakes.
Pirates Hot Hitter Tellez Turns Boos to Cheers
On Saturday, Tellez came to bat in a scoreless tie in the bottom of the seventh inning. Against Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson, the big left-handed slugger hit a towering solo home run to center field. Pirates fans chanted “Row-dee!” as he circled the bases. Their support clearly moved Tellez.
Tellez Hungry Like a Wolf Against Durán
Tellez came to bat again in the eighth with two outs and runners on second and third. This time Twins closer Jhoan Durán was on the mound. Again, the fans chanted Tellez’s name. Tellez came through again, this time with a line drive single to the opposite field to make the score 3-0. The Pirates would win 4-0.
Tellez’s Inner Frank
Pirates home victories are followed by fluffy interviews with the star of the game, broadcast on PNC Park’s expansive scoreboard. Questions are innocuous. Anything substantive rarely comes out of them. This time, asked how he turned his season around, Tellez channeled his inner Frank Sinatra and replied, “I went back to what got me to the major leagues. If I was going down, I was going to do it my way.”
The comment didn’t get any attention. However, it raises some questions: Why did he get away from what had worked before, and whose idea was it? Hitting coach Andy Haines has been a lightning rod for criticism during the Pirates’ frequent struggles on offense. If it was Haines who tinkered with Tellez’s swing, whether on his own or under orders from higher up, it’s puzzling, being that the Pirates hoped they had signed the hitter who hit 35 homers in 2022. It brought back unpleasant memories of Jim Tracy’s disastrous two-year tenure as Pirates manager in 2006-07. That’s when Tracy tried to turn Chris Duffy, a line drive hitter, into a ground ball hitter, as if grounders were preferable to line drives. The experiment was a miserable failure.
The Last Word
In any event, all is well with the Pirates and Tellez as long as he remains hot. In addition to Saturday’s three RBI, Tellez drove in four runs in a 5-4 loss in Toronto on June 2. His seven RBI in June are the most he’s had in any month in 2024. It couldn’t have come at a better time for the Bucs, too. Tellez’s right-handed platoon partner at first base, Connor Joe, has cooled off. As Tellez slumped, Joe was getting occasional starts at first base against right-handed pitching. However, in June, Joe is 5-for-28 and has seen his average drop from .276 to .263. The Pirates remain in the thick of the wild card race. If Tellez keeps hitting, first base will be one less need at the trade deadline.
