Tim Benz: As expectations rise for Pirates roster, they increase for manager Derek Shelton, as well

Before Friday’s home opener at PNC Park, former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Jim Leyland threw out the ceremonial first pitch to current manager Derek Shelton. In advance of the pregame festivities, both men discussed their strong relationship.

From Leyland reaching out to Shelton when he got the job to their regular breakfast meetings at Chartiers Country Club, the two have developed a valued friendship.

“He is a mentor to me. I really appreciate him, and I’m really excited that he’s here today,” Shelton said of the franchise’s pregame recognition of Leyland’s election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in December.

The bond between Shelton and Leyland extends beyond simply having that same job in Pittsburgh. It also includes the shared difficulties of what it entails. After Friday’s 5-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, Shelton’s record is now just 224-330, a winning percentage of .404. He hasn’t had a winning season in four years as Pirates manager, and he has endured two seasons with more than 100 losses.

Leyland can empathize. His first year on the job in 1986, the Pirates lost 98 games. Leyland’s last four seasons here were all below .500, following the deconstruction of his three-time National League East Division championship roster in advance of the 1993 campaign.

“The manager’s chair can get a little lonely when things aren’t going too well,” Leyland said.

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That said, the organization has stuck with Shelton through the ups and downs of his first MLB managerial sojourn. He got a contract extension of an undetermined length in April of last year, and the team ended up winning 14 more games than it did in 2022. Jumping from 62 wins to 76 is one thing. Making that next leap of 10 more victories to get into wild-card territory gets a lot more difficult.

Leyland can relate there, too. His Pirates surged from 64 wins to 80 in 1987. Then it was up to 85 in 1988, but back down to 74 in ’89. And back in those days, there was no wild card. You won the division or stayed home for the playoffs.

“Sometimes you make a little jump. And then you make another little jump. And then you take a step back. And then you take off again,” Leyland said. “There’s a lot of good things that can happen. But this is definitely on the right track.”

Expectations to improve upon last year’s strides have risen within the Pirates fan base after the franchise’s 6-2 start. The club seems to have a lengthened lineup, a more versatile bench, a deeper bullpen and young developing talent with rotational help in the farm system just waiting to be called up in the form of last year’s No. 1 draft choice, Paul Skenes.

“We have gotten better,” Shelton said. “I think with this group, we have more depth. That’s something that we were very intentional about: making sure we went out and added people to our young core.”

So if the team is improving, is the manager improving, too? Shelton has done some self-analysis.

“More patience. Definitely, the ability to listen better,” Shelton said of his personal growth on the job. “More patient with everyone, including myself. I think when you first get the job, you want to do a ton of things right off the bat and you have to pick and choose what the right things (are) to do, and how to go about them.”

Shelton also says that over the last two years, he has learned the importance of extending the coaching elements of his job to the rest of his staff.

“How we break up information amongst ourselves, who we have conversations with, (it’s) very similar to how NFL and NBA staffs do it. They go to the specialty skill set to listen to someone,” Shelton said. “It’s not just going to your offensive coordinator. Maybe your quarterbacks coach, maybe your receivers coach. I think we’ve done a good job with our staff over the last couple of years with breaking up responsibilities and then making sure that those people are leading certain conversations.”

Six-year veteran Connor Joe says Shelton has a knack for explaining the method and mentality for the decisions he makes.

“A lot happens behind the scenes that we don’t see,” Joe said. “If you dig into the numbers or the lineups or the matchups or the splits, it’s apparent. As players, we don’t necessarily do that on a game-to-game basis. Just look at how he creates each lineup for that opponent or the back end of the bullpens.”

New acquisition Michael A. Taylor says he can already tell that Shelton’s ability to keep things loose in the clubhouse will pay dividends as the long season drags through summer.

“He’s funny. I’ve enjoyed being around him. He likes to have fun. He dishes it out. He has a good personality,” Taylor said.

Even those who have endured a lot of losses with Shelton insist they still have confidence in him as the right guy for the job.

“He’s been awesome,” closer David Bednar said. “We all know he has our backs. We have a lot of trust in him. That’s huge for a manager. We all love going to battle with him.”

And for whatever it’s worth, Shelton still has the endorsement of the Hall of Famer who once sat in that same lonely seat that he does.

“He’s right on top of the game. He’s doing a fantastic job. The players, it shows that they have a lot of confidence in his decisions,” Leyland said.

Now we’ll see how much trust management has in Shelton to turn the franchise into a wild-card team for the first time in almost a decade.

Or even into a division winner for the first time since Leyland last did so in 1992.