Pirates’ Dickerson presented golden glove award during opening day ceremony
PITTSBURGH — Corey Dickerson was presented his 2018 Rawlings Gold Glove award for excellent defensive play in the outfield during opening day festivities on Monday at PNC Park.
Dickerson, who is in his second season with the Pirates, received his first gold glove by five-time Gold Glove winner and former Pittsburgh outfielder Andy Van Slyke.
“Getting the gold glove is very special to me and and my family,” Dickerson said. “A lot of times you still have to go out there and perform and play. I look at what it took, the fundamentals and doing the little things the right way.”
The Pirates acquired Dickerson from Tampa Bay in a trade prior to last season. He was an All-Star with the Rays in 2017, but was not known for his defensive prowess when he came to Pittsburgh.
“I have always been fueled internally,” Dickerson said. “I’m a self-motivated guy. I don’t really need anybody’s opinions. I get myself up for every game, every offseason, every time I train. I love it and I love to get better.
“That’s kind of what I like. The daily process of how I can be a better person, player, outfielder, baserunner, every part of my life is what’s important now, and that’s how I live it. Right now, talking to you guys and give the best answers I can is the most important thing in my life right now.”
Blass, Groat recognized
Pittsburgh honored Steve Blass and Dick Groat in a pregame ceremony on opening day.
Blass is in his 60th and final season with the organization. He was a 1971 World Series hero prior to joining the broadcasting staff.
Groat was the 1960 National League MVP and an eight-time Al-Star as a member of the Pirates. He was also a member of the broadcast team for the Pitt men’s basketball team.
Age and roster moves
The average age of the current Pittsburgh roster is 27.5, compared to 28.2 in 2017, 29.6 in ’16, 28.4 in ’15, 28.3 in ’14, 28.6 in ’13, 28.4 in ’12, 27.6 in ’11 and 28.3 in ’10.
Francisco Liriano is the oldest player on the Pirates roster at 35 and rookie Pablo Reyes is the youngest at 25. Reyes is one month younger than fellow newcomer Kevin Newman. The Bucs’ third rookie is Nick Burdi.
There were 11 players returning from last year’s roster. Melky Cabrera, Lonnie Chisenhall, Erik Gonzalez, Jordan Lyles and JB Shuck are in their first season with the Pirates.
Guiding the ship
Clint Hurdle is in his ninth season as manager of the Bucs. His 667 wins as Pittsburgh’s skipper rank fifth all time behind Fred Clarke (1,422), Danny Murtaugh (1,115), Jim Leyland (851) and Chuck Tanner (711).
Hurdle’s 1,201 career wins place him third among active manager behind Bruce Bochy (1,927) and Terry Francona (1,575).
Spring wrap
The Pirates were 15-15-3 in spring training, going 7-3-1 in their last 11 games. Pittsburgh tied for sixth among all MLB teams with 46 home runs and tied for fifth with 30 stolen bases.
Jung Ho Kang led all major leaguers in spring training home runs with seven. Shuck led the Bucs in batting with a .372 batting average. Ke’Bryan Hayes led the team in RBIs with 12.
Nick Kingham led the staff with 20.2 innings pitched, and Liriano and Tyler Lyons made 10 appearances.
Pirates and Cardinals connections
Pittsburgh and St. Louis have more connections than being in the NL Central.
The Cardinals’ Paul DeJong was drafted by the Pirates in the 38th round of the 2014 MLB Draft, but did not sign. Teammate Harrison Bader previously committed to play a the University of Pittsburgh and University of Maryland before receiving a partial scholarship from the University of Florida.
St. Louis’ Jedd Gyorko was born in Morgantown and played at West Virginia University from 2008-’10. The Cards’ Yadier Molina (June 3, 2004) and Jose Martinez (Sept. 6, 2016) made their MLB debuts against the Pirates.
Cardinals pitching coach Mike Maddux signed with Pittsburgh in April 1995 and pitched in eight games before being released. St. Louis bench coach Oliver Marmol was selected by the Pirates in the 31st round of the 2004 draft, but did not sign. Cards assistant hitting coach Mark Budaska was born in Sharon.
St. Louis pitcher Miles Mikolas spent one month as a Buc during the 2013 offseason.
Hurdle was selected by the Cardinals from the Mets in the 1985 Rule 5 Draft and played 86 games for the Cards in 1986. Pittsburgh pitching coach Ray Searge was picked by St. Louis in the 22nd round of the 1976 draft. He began his coaching career in the Cardinals minor league system as the pitching coach with Madison (1994), Peoria (1995-96) and Prince William (1997).
Pirates Baseball Operations Senior Advisor Nick Leyva was drafted by St. Louis in the 24th round in 1975. He played three minor league seasons in the Cards system and was a manager in the organization’s minor leagues for six years. Leyva was St. Louis’ first base coach and third base coach, and also spent time as Pittsburgh’s first and third base coach prior to his current position.