{"id":100178,"date":"2025-05-09T14:31:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T18:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=100178"},"modified":"2025-05-09T14:31:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T18:31:14","slug":"pirates-new-manager-kelly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/05\/09\/pirates-new-manager-kelly\/","title":{"rendered":"New Pirates Manager Don Kelly: What He\u2019ll Do and Won\u2019t Do"},"content":{"rendered":"

Newly minted Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly is walking into a hornet\u2019s nest, hoping to avoid being stung. With a day to prepare after Thursday\u2019s firing<\/a> of Derek Shelton, Kelly\u2019s managerial debut comes Friday at home in PNC Park against the 18-19 Atlanta Braves. Pirates fans hope it\u2019s a long and successful career, unlike that of his predecessor<\/a>. What type of manager will he be? We\u2019ll get to that.<\/p>\n

Pirates Manager Kelly: Hometown Kid Made Good<\/h3>\n

Kelly at least checks all the boxes as far as his hometown bona fides. He was raised in Mount Lebanon, a Pittsburgh suburb, and played for Point Park College (today Point Park University<\/a>), located in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh. He played for the Pirates in 2007 and is married to former Pirates second baseman and current broadcaster Neil Walker\u2019s sister. In 2007, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette <\/em>asked Kelly whether Walker was a better player than a brother-in-law. Kelly replied, \u201cUm, we\u2019ll take the fifth there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Detroit Tigers drafted Kelly out of Point Park in the eighth round of the 2001 June Amateur Draft. At Point Park, the left-handed batter was a three-year starter at shortstop and a career .413 hitter, striking out just 20 times in 429 college at-bats. He hit .450 in his senior year while also stealing 39 bases in 41 tries. But it was in the Coastal Plain League where he got noticed. He played second base for the Petersburg Generals, who went on to win the championship. He was voted the team\u2019s Most Valuable Player while leading the league in hits and stolen bases. Point Park coach Mark Jackson, who also coached at Pitt, told David Assad of Tri-State Sports & News Service<\/em>, \u201cDon Kelly is the best player\/person that I have ever had the privilege to be around in 18 years as a head coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

“A Fantastic Kid”<\/h3>\n

Kelly climbed the ladder in the Tigers’ system. He was at his best in 2005, when he hit .340\/.402\/.508, 9 HR, and 54 RBI for the Double-A Erie Sea Wolves. (Your correspondent recalls attending a game in Erie that summer with shortstop Kelly hitting third in the order.) That earned him a promotion to Triple-A Toledo. In 2006, he was one of the final players cut from the eventual American League champion Tigers in spring training. \u201cA fantastic kid,\u201d Tigers Hall of Fame<\/a> manager Jim Leyland told Paul Meyer of the Post-Gazette<\/em>. \u201cWhen push came to shove, he ran into a numbers game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe 100 Percent Knows How to Play the Game\u201d<\/h3>\n

Kelly elected free agency and went to camp with the Pirates in 2007. There, he made a good impression on Pirates manager Jim Tracy. Of Kelly, the loquacious Tracy told Meyer, \u201cHe 100 percent knows how to play the game. He has a lot of energy and a very unselfish approach to the game. . . He\u2019s a winning player who can help create a winning atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly went north with the 2007 Pirates, winning a spot in a utility role. Unfortunately, he was just 4-for-27 in 25 games. His last game with the Pirates was on July 17 of that year. Thus, he elected free agency again, returning to the Tigers. With Detroit, he carved out his major league career. Leyland liked having a versatile bench player who kept his mouth shut and did his job. Kelly was that player for him in Detroit. (Current Pirates broadcaster John Wehner, another Pittsburgh product, was that player for Leyland in Pittsburgh and Miami.)<\/p>\n

Kelly lasted six seasons in Detroit from 2009-14, appearing in 544 games. He finished his career with brief cameos with the Miami Marlins in 2015 and 2016. Over parts of nine major league seasons, Kelly hit .230\/.294\/.334, 23 HR, and 98 RBI. Furthermore, he played every one of the nine positions at least once in the major leagues. Make that 10 for those of you who count the designated hitter as a position.<\/p>\n

What Kind of Pirates Manager Will Kelly Be?<\/h3>\n

Besides being a local \u201ckid,\u201d Pirates fans are encouraged that the 45-year-old Kelly is a Leyland disciple. That\u2019s no guarantee of success, however. Former Pirates managers Gene Lamont and Lloyd McClendon also served under Leyland. Lamont, who led the Bucs to a second-place finish in 1997, was 295-352 in four years as the Pirates’ manager. Subsequently, the fiery \u201cLlegendary Lloyd\u201d was 336-446 in five seasons at the Pirates\u2019 helm. Both were hampered by roster turnover that jettisoned good players from their teams.<\/p>\n

Kelly still inherits a team<\/a> that\u2019s hitting .219\/.300\/.325 and has been shut out seven times already. General manager Ben Cherington feels that they can hit better. Perhaps they can, but unfortunately for Kelly, only Bryan Reynolds at .219 and free agent bust<\/a> Tommy Pham at .183 are badly underachieving compared to their career numbers. Pham, 37, is a player in decline. As for the others on the roster, nothing in their career records suggests significant improvement is on the horizon. The fact that among qualifiers, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Joey Bart are the Pirates\u2019 leading hitters tells the reader all he needs to know.<\/p>\n

Moreover, Kelly inherits the same coaching staff as Shelton as well, except that Jon Heyman reports that game planning coach Radley Haddad has been dismissed. It\u2019s unknown who will take on that role or the bench coach position vacated by Kelly.<\/p>\n

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sources: Pirates also let go game planning coach Radley Haddad<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n