Born and raised in Western Pennsylvania, Don Kelly excited to take over as Pirates manager

Noah Hiles / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Don Kelly remembers stopping at Jim Leyland’s house as a kid while trick-or-treating with his friends on Halloween. Leyland’s house apparently was known to pass out the “big candy bars.” The fact he also happened to be the Pirates manager was a bonus.  

This week, rather than following Leyland up the driveway of his old home, Kelly instead followed his footsteps to the North Shore, officially becoming the team’s new manager following the dismissal of Derek Shelton. Having played high school, collegiate and Major League Baseball in Pittsburgh, Kelly said the opportunity to manage his hometown club is something he will cherish during his first time addressing the media as the Pirates skipper.

"There's a lot of times even as a bench coach that leaving the stadium and walking out and I'm one of the last guys and all of the lights are off, just seeing the city and being from here and seeing it lit up and how special it is,” Kelly said. “I think that growing up watching those teams of the ’90s and Jim and [Gene] Lamont, [Lloyd] McClendon, [Rafael] Belliard, [Andy] Van Slyke, [Barry] Bonds, [Bobby] Bonilla. I mean, you could go down the list.

“That was my team growing up, watching those guys play and compete. And I think that I dreamed of playing in the big leagues and I was blessed to be able to accomplish that and play for a long time. And then to get into coaching and to be sitting here as the Pirates manager, yes, it was a dream, and I’m really humbled to be here."

Kelly learned his time was coming essentially from the man he has been tasked to replace. Just moments after Shelton was fired, the former Pirates skipper called Kelly to break the news. After that conversation ended, Kelly received a call from Ben Cherington saying he was the new man at the helm.

A member of Shelton’s staff since 2020, Kelly spoke highly of the club’s former manager.

“What a baseball guy,” Kelly said. “Committed. You guys saw the way he worked every day and the way he got after it, the passion he has for the game, the passion he has for people, and I think that those are some of the things that I can take forward, learning from him.”

Kelly said his goal is to provide a new energy within the clubhouse. Understanding times are less than ideal for the franchise, he hopes to help each player find a new level of motivation to attack their job day in and day out.

“How do we show up every day?” Kelly said. “How do we show up with that enthusiasm like we did when we were in Little League, high school and bring that enthusiasm out onto the field and show up every day to get better and show up every day to help the team win a ball game? I think that’s something that I’m looking forward to from these guys, is seeing every single day that intent to get better, the intent to win and playing with that enthusiasm every single day.”

As Kelly embarks on this new journey, he will continue to receive advice from Leyland, his former big-league coach and mentor. He said the Hall of Fame manager spoke with him a handful of times since the announcement was made but respectfully declined to share exactly what was discussed.

“What a tremendous guy,” Kelly said of Leyland. “Awesome resource for me personally and has been and learned a lot from him playing for him.”

Kelly understands the situation he has inherited isn’t exactly ideal. The Pirates enter his first game at the helm losers of seven straight and with an overall record of 12-26. Kelly hopes to help the club grow. And those within the clubhouse understand he can’t make that happen on his own.

"He's gonna do his part,” Andrew McCutchen said of his new manager. “He's gonna do his job. Obviously, it's not like we're trying to lean on him to help us. He can't help us in a way where it gets us to perform on the field. We have to help ourselves in that aspect.

“He's gonna manage. That's his job. We have to do ours, too. ... If we can collectively come together and have some success, that's all you can ask for."

Staff, roster updates

In addition to Shelton, the Pirates also fired game planning coach Radley Haddad, a decision Kelly said was made by Cherington. Kelly added the club has yet to completely figure out what the coaching staff will look like with him as the manager.

“Ben and I are working through that right now,” Kelly said. “Things have happened pretty quick and really just trying to nail that down and come up with a plan. Hopefully, by the end of the weekend, we’ll have everything settled there.”

In addition to the coaching changes, the Pirates also made a roster move Friday, placing infielder Enmanuel Valdez on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Outfielder Ji Hwan Bae was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis to fill Valdez’s spot on the active roster.