New manager, GM formed a quick bond
Went to Steelers brass for draft, local advice
In the lead-up to the 2020 Major League Baseball draft, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said he had received some advice from Steelers brass.
It made sense, given that the social-distanced NFL draft was before baseball’s. Cherington said the advice mainly surrounded logistics and how to run a team’s draft while separated from one another.
That wasn’t the start of the relationship but it was an early benefit from it. Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Sunday that he, Cherington, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert have formed a sort of friendship in the past months as Shelton and Cherington have gotten started in Pittsburgh.
A few weeks ago, in fact, the four of them got together for lunch at the Steelers training facility, and while some of the conversation surrounded the aforementioned draft strategy, most of what Shelton wanted to know had to do with Pittsburgh itself.
“It was awesome, we had lunch together, we walked through some of their draft process, we talked about different things, and then honestly as much as success he’s had here and as much respect as I’ve had for him, I talked to him
about the city,” Shelton said. “I talked to him about the fans, I talked to him about Pittsburgh. He’s been very gracious in terms of offering his wife’s suggestions for my wife in different things. So really appreciate that.”
The relationship between Shelton and Tomlin in particular began in Pirates spring training in Bradenton, Fla. Tomlin was supposed to go to Florida, something he had done in the past when former Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was in charge. The COVID-19 shutdown canceled those plans, but Shelton and Tomlin maintained communication afterward.
That eventually resulted in the lunch they shared with their respective general managers, which also served as a way for the Pirates to see how the Steelers were handling NFL COVID-19 protocols.
It also doesn’t hurt Shelton’s impression of the conversation that the Steelers facility features their hardware, too.
“I mean, I think anytime you get a chance to sit down with Mike Tomlin and talk to him I am going to take that opportunity, as much success as he’d had,” Shelton said. “And it’s such a cool building, and you walk around the one corner and the Super Bowl trophies are all sitting right there. It’s something that kind of makes you step back and realize it’s really kind of a special place to be.”
Shelton added that he hadn’t yet met Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, noting that Sullivan is pretty busy these days preparing for the NHL’s restart, but that he hopes to do so in the future.
These are not necessarily abnormal relationships. When Shelton worked in Tampa Bay under then
“I mean, I think anytime you get a chance to sit down with Mike Tomlin and talk to him I am going to take that opportunity, as much success as he’d had.”
— Derek Shelton, Pirates manager
-Rays manager Joe Maddon, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers staff joined them at spring training and formed a relationship, too.
It’s the sort of thing that Shelton feels can help get him acclimated in his first managerial job. After all, there aren’t many people in the country, let alone Pittsburgh, who can relate to the sort of things he has to deal with. Luckily for him, Tomlin is one of them, and he and the Steelers seem to be willing to give help and advice whenever Shelton and the Pirates have asked for it.
“I think anytime you can kind of cross-pollinate with groups and different leadership groups and talk about things … there are some things that don’t line up, but
there’s a lot of things that do line up,” Shelton said. “And when you are around people who are good leaders — and going back to Mike being such a good leader — anytime you actually have the opportunity to talk to someone like that, especially me, I mean I have coached for a while in the big leagues, but being in this chair, I wanted to ask about how he led and how he had interactions with people and what he did specific to players, and he was really gracious with his time.
“Unbelievable information, very fortunate and I hope that continues to grow.”