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First Pitch: Are the Pirates About to Get a New Coaching Position?

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We’ve got our mega announcement coming up today, but first I wanted to add a few thoughts on the Derek Shelton hiring.

I don’t want to dig deep into Shelton, or try to analyze that hiring specifically. But during this manager search, and during the process of researching Shelton, I kept seeing the same thing pop up:

Quality control coach.

What is this position that the Pirates haven’t seen before?

Mark Kotsay was interviewed for the manager position, and currently holds the “quality control coach” position in Oakland. When he was given that role, this was the description from the team press release.

Kotsay returns to the A’s coaching staff as major league quality control coach. In this role, Mark will assist Bob Melvin and the ML coaching staff in all areas and will also consult with the front office in other facets of the organization. Kotsay was originally named bench coach Nov. 12, 2015 before taking a leave of absence in June of 2017.

And then, while looking up Shelton’s past roles, I saw the same thing: Quality control coach in 2017.

For the Toronto Blue Jays.

While Ben Cherington was the vice president of baseball operations for the same team.

I wouldn’t say that one year tie between Cherington and Shelton was the reason Shelton got the job. Shelton seems very qualified. He spent ten seasons as a hitting coach between the Indians and Rays before moving to that quality control coach position in 2017. He then went on to be the Twins bench coach in 2018, where he spent two seasons before accepting the Pirates’ manager job.

Shelton seems qualified on his own without having to work with anyone in the past.

But the constant “quality control coach” references — again, a position that hasn’t existed with the Pirates — makes me think the Pirates are going to be adding that position. Cherington comes from an organization that had a quality control coach. He hired someone who was a quality control coach for that organization. He interviewed someone who is a quality control coach for another organization right now.

All of this makes me think we’re going to find out next year what a quality control coach really does. I’d be surprised if Cherington doesn’t bring that position to the Pirates.

Check back throughout the day for our mega announcements!

SONG OF THE DAY

DAILY QUIZ


THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY

By John Dreker

Five former Pittsburgh Pirates born on this date, including a member of the 1979 World Series champs.

Mike Easler, outfielder for the 1977 and 1979-83 Pirates. He was traded nine times during his career, including four straight deals that involved the Pirates. Easler didn’t become a starter in the majors until his seventh season. He was mainly used as a pinch-hitter during the 1979 season, hitting .278 in 54 at-bats spread out over 55 games. The next year he hit .338 with 21 homers, then made his only All-Star appearance in 1981. In six seasons with the Pirates, Easler hit .302 with 56 homers and 244 RBIs in 549 games.

Paul Pettit, lefty pitcher for the 1951 and 1953 Pirates. He was signed by the Pirates for $100,000 as an 18-year-old in early 1950. He went 2-7, 5.17 in the minors that year but made the Pirates early in 1951, although he lasted just two games. He won 15 games in the minors in 1952 which earned him an Opening Day roster spot in 1953. Pettit pitched ten games, posting a 7.71 ERA in 28 innings, and then spent most of the year back in the minors. He never played in the majors again, spending eight more seasons in the minors, with most of his time spent as an outfielder.

Ed Leip, second baseman for the 1940-42 Pirates. He played 21 games and had 30 at-bats over his three seasons with the Pirates, hitting .200 with three RBIs. His only other big league experience was nine games for the 1939 Washington Senators.

Marc Campbell, shortstop for the 1907 Pirates. There wasn’t much of a need at shortstop for the Pirates in 1907 due to that Wagner fella, but Campbell got two games in at the end of the season and he went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. That was his only big league experience. Campbell played four seasons in the minors.

Bill Sowders, pitcher for the 1889-90 Alleghenys. In two seasons, he went 9-13, 5.39 in 22 starts and six relief appearances. He debuted in the majors in 1888 with the Boston Beaneaters and won 19 games while posting a 2.07 ERA, but he was out of the big leagues just two years later. He had two brothers, Len and John Sowders, who each played in the majors.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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