The Pittsburgh Pirates have named Don Kelly of Butler, Pennsylvania as their new manager. Kelly replaces Derek Shelton of Carbondale, Illinois, who was released of his duties on Thursday.
Pirates struggling as of late
Pittsburgh has lost seven straight games and are last in the National League Central with a record of 12 wins and 26 losses. During the losing streak, the Pirates lost one game to the Chicago Cubs, and were swept in three game series to the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals. Lately, scoring runs have been a problem. The Pirates have been shutout three times in their last nine games. They lost 9-0 to the Cubs on April 29, 4-0 to the Padres on May 4, and 5-0 to the Cardinals on May 7. For the season, the Pirates have only scored 118 runs as a team. That is the second fewest number of runs in the Major Leagues. The only team that has scored fewer runs are the Colorado Rockies with 115.
Kelly’s resume and personal info
At the time of the hiring, Don Kelly was the Pirates bench coach. He had been in that position since the 2020 season. Kelly was also a scout and assistant of player development in 2017 and 2018. Then in 2019, he was a first base coach for the Houston Astros.
Kelly also has links to the Pittsburgh region. He attended Mount Lebanon High School in Pittsburgh, Point Park University in Pittsburgh, and is the brother-in-law of former Pirates second baseman Neil Walker, as he married Neil’s sister Carrie.
Kelly’s MLB playing career
Kelly was a Major League Baseball outfielder with the Pirates, Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins from 2007 to 2016. He batted .230 with 23 home runs and 98 runs batted in. During 584 games, 1098 at bats, and 1220 plate appearances, Kelly scored 148 runs, and had 252 hits, 28 doubles, nine triples, 16 stolen bases, 92 walks, 367 total bases, 11 sacrifice bunts, eight sacrifice flies, and had an on base percentage of .294, and slugging percentage of .334.
