One of the biggest stories for the Pirates so far this season was the firing of manager Derek Shelton. “Shelty” had been with the team since 2020 and never had a winning season. To be fair, he also never truly had a good enough team to win. You could argue that the 2023 and 2024 teams, given their strong starts, might have been good enough as they hovered around .500 for a while. Ultimately, both finished 76-86. With another manager, it’s certainly possible they could have finished one or both of those seasons above .500. No guarantees, but possible.
Kelly vs. Shelton
Now that Don Kelly is the Pirates manager, is his approach truly that different from Derek Shelton’s? On the surface, yes. Shelton looked lifeless most days, rarely bringing much emotion to the dugout or risking an ejection by sticking up for his players and arguing a call. Don Kelly, in contrast, has certainly provided that emotion so far.
Another difference, although this might be more of a feeling than reality, Derek Shelton appeared to be more rigidly tied to analytics and the pre-set plan. Don Kelly seems more willing to or is at least better at making adjustments on the fly.
The Context
With all that said, it’s worth noting the uphill battle Shelton faced. He started the season with a timeshare at first base due to an injury to Spencer Horwitz, and his starting second baseman got hurt in the first game, forcing Adam Frazier to play second most days. Shelty also didn’t have the productive Tommy Pham we’re seeing now. So, would the Pirates be better if nobody was hurt and Tommy Pham had the right contact lenses, even with Shelton still as manager? Perhaps. But he still would have lacked the fire that is apparent with Don Kelly.
Still Not Enough
Personally, I’m not entirely convinced it’s a significant difference between the two. As much as the company men have tried to sell the line that Don Kelly is a major difference… at the end of the day, you need good players to win baseball games. Both Shelty and Kelly have lacked the necessary number of good players to win more consistently.
As it stands, Shelton was 12-26 before he was fired. Kelly has gone 26-29 since taking over. It’s an improvement, but not by much, and Kelly has arguably had at least two better players at his disposal than Shelton did. So while “Donnie Ball” is indeed different in some respects, it’s still not enough.