On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates hired long-time pitching coach Brent Strom as assistant pitching coach. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette beat reporter Noah Hiles was the first to break the news. The Pirates have made no formal announcement as of this writing.
Source: The Pirates have hired Brent Strom as an assistant pitching coach. He will work from the dugout during games. The club will appoint someone else to coach from the bullpen. That move has yet to be made.
— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) November 13, 2024
It was a productive day for the Bucs. Earlier in the day, the Pirates hired Matt Hague, “The Hit Collector,” as their hitting coach.
Pirates Surprise By Hiring Pitching Guru As Assistant Coach
Strom, who turned 76 last month, pitched in the major leagues from 1972-73 and 1975-77 for the New York Mets, Cleveland Indians (as they were then known), and San Diego Padres. The left-hander got a taste of both starting and relieving, going 22-39 for his career with a 3.95 ERA.
More importantly, Strom has been a highly respected pitching coach. He served in that role for the Houston Astros (1996, 2014-21), Kansas City Royals (2000-01), and Arizona Diamondbacks (2022-24). He has a 2017 World Series ring with the Astros and helped Arizona to the National League pennant in 2023. Strom has also held various pitching-related positions in the minor leagues.
It was in Houston where he earned his reputation as a pitching guru. Ironically, his work there with former Pirates Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton was a factor when the Pirates fired pitching coach Ray Searage after the 2019 season. Owner Bob Nutting had grown weary of seeing former Pirates pitchers flourish after they’d gone elsewhere. Cole was 35-10 with a 2.68 ERA under Strom. (Not that Cole was a total flop in Pittsburgh. In 2015, he was 19-8 with a 2.60 ERA as a Pirate and placed fourth in the National League Cy Young Award voting.) Meanwhile, Morton was 29-10 with a 3.36 ERA with Strom. Strom encouraged both former Pirates to work their fastballs high in the strike zone, as opposed to Searage’s sinker-heavy approach.
With Arizona, Strom’s star pupil was Zac Gallen. In three years with Strom, Gallen was 43-19 with a 3.20 ERA and twice received NL Cy Young Award consideration. Gallen’s 0.913 WHIP led the NL in 2022.
Diamondbacks Loss Could Be Pirates Gain
On October 3, the Diamondbacks announced that Strom wouldn’t be returning as their pitching coach as part of a coaching shake-up. It was assumed that Strom would simply retire. Some might be puzzled that Strom would take a back seat to Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin. It’s possible that at his advanced age, Strom wanted to continue working while not having the responsibilities that go with being the number one man. (If you still don’t understand, contact this writer sometime, and you’ll hear what that’s like.)
Strom will get to work with young phenoms Paul Skenes and Jared Jones, along with the other promising young hurlers in the system. Pirates fans should hope that he has some tricks up his sleeve to help turn around David Bednar, too.
Main Photo Credits: Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
