Pirates Manager Don Kelly Addresses First Ejection
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly has just started in his new position, but showed he is willing to do anything for his team in their latest game vs. the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park.
He didn't care for a call in the top of the sixth inning with Pirates left-handed starting pitcher Andrew Heaney on the mound and the home plate umpire, Clint Vondrak, didn't care for a comment and threw Kelly out of the game.
Kelly immediately ran up to Vondrak and got in his face, sticking up for his starting pitcher and letting Vondrak know his feelings.
The Pirates fans at PNC Park stood and clapped for Kelly, appreciating that he showed heart for his players, even if it meant an ejection.
"Obviously I just disagreed with a few of the calls along the way, and I'm always going to protect my guys," Kelly said. "That was really the extent of it."
Kelly took over as manager on May 8 following Derek Shelton's dismissal, after spending the past six seasons as the bench coach.
The Pirates were successful in their first game under Kelly, as they beat the Braves 3-2 on May 9.
While they didn't end up with the win against the Braves in this one, Kelly wanted to let everyone know that he will stand up for his players through anything and that he's not afraid of a fight nor an argument.
"I think it was just a boiling point and backing your guys, man," Kelly said. "These guys are going out and competing. We're grinding, going out there fighting and having their backs."
With Kelly going out, and after he earned his promotion from bench coach to manager, many wondered who would take over as acting manager in Kelly's absence.
Third base coach Mike Rabelo came in and served as the manager for the remainder of the game.
Kelly praised Rabelo for doing it as well as he did for the first time and for using Ji Hwan Bae as a pinch-runner in the bottom of the eighth inning, which served as the tying run.
"Pretty well. Especially in the spur of the moment like that," Kelly said. "First time for him doing it, he did pretty well. Especially in a close game, getting Bae in there, our guys battled, had good at-bats, tied it up but unfortunately came up a little bit short."
Heaney finished his day after that sixth inning, allowing two runs, but keeping the Pirates well within the game.
Seeing how Kelly stood up for him made Heaney feel much better on the mound, especially since he's not a guy to go after an umpire like that.
"Yeah, I think everybody felt it building as the game went on," Heaney said. "I'm not somebody that likes to have those conversations in the game. It's just not really my personality. I want to go out there and pitch and deal with the circumstances as they are, as they're happening, so I appreciate when I feel like I'm not really in a position to sort of vocalize those things. That somebody can pick up that slack for me, I appreciate it."
