04/03/26 07:48:00
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04/03 19:46 CDT Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin, 19, certainly looks ready for
the majors during electric debut
Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin, 19, certainly looks ready for the majors
during electric debut
By WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) --- All of the emotions were there, from joy to jitters and
everything in between.
Well, almost everything.
The one thing Konnor Griffin didn't feel when the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop
--- all 19 years and 344 days of him --- ahead of his big league debut Friday
against the Baltimore Orioles was shock.
"I'm ready for this," Griffin said a few hours before stepping onto the field
at PNC Park as a professional for the first time.
Certainly looks that way.
All of Griffin's considerable physical gifts were on display over 2 hours and
44 electric minutes in a 5-4 victory over the Orioles.
There was the tidy double play, Pittsburgh's first of the season, he turned in
the second inning. There was the rope he hit to the wall in center field in his
first at-bat in a few minutes later, a 105 mph laser off the bat against
Baltimore's Kyle Bradish that scored Ryan O'Hearn and sent a jolt through a
sellout crowd.
There was blistering dash from second to home on a ensuing groundball to right
field by teammate Jared Triolo. There was the confidence to successfully
challenge a strike call in his third at-bat. Oh, and the composure to gather a
chopper he briefly bobbled before firing to first for an out to end the eighth,
too.
All part of what Griffin called "hands down one of the best days of my life,"
and what everyone involved with the organization hopes is the start of a long
successful run for a franchise that hasn't reached the postseason in over a
decade.
"He's a difference maker, it was very apparent today," said Pirates ace and
reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, who knows a thing or two about
entering the majors with outsized expectations.
Just 628 days after Pittsburgh selected him with the ninth pick in the 2024
amateur draft, the athletic and mustachioed 6-foot-3 Griffin found a No. 6
jersey hanging in his locker at PNC Park and his name penciled in the seventh
spot in the lineup against the Orioles, making him the first teenage position
player to reach the majors since Juan Soto did it with the Washington Nationals
in 2018.
On the surface, it seems fast. Not for Griffin, who checked every box --- and
quickly --- while sprinting through the Pirates' system. The final steps came
over the last week when he hit .438 in a handful of games for Triple-A
Indianapolis.
All of which made for a full-circle moment when Griffin became the youngest
Pirate to get a hit in his first game since Hall of Fame second baseman Bill
Mazeroski did it on July 7, 1956. The club honored Mazeroski, who died in
February at 1989, by having "Maz" painted into the outfield grass behind
second, not far from where Griffin --- who was scouted and signed by
Mazeroski's son Darren --- went to work on a warm spring afternoon that had a
decidedly early fall playoff-like vibe.
"Darren is the reason I'm here," Griffin said. "He believed in me and took a
chance on me. That's pretty special right there and I'm going to cherish that a
long time."
Griffin's call-up came less than two weeks after he was one of the last cuts
during spring training, where he mashed three homers but also hit just .171.
Rather than sulk, he headed to Triple-A and made the adjustments necessary ---
trying to get back to treating his job like a game of Wiffle ball back home in
Mississippi --- to get a call that has long felt inevitable.
"He just went right down and hit his stride and was able to reset in a couple
of days," Kelly said. "Which again, for anybody, is really impressive,
especially for a 19-year-old kid whose hopes and dreams were to make the big
leagues."
Those dreams became reality when Indianapolis manager Eric Patterson called
Griffin to his hotel room early Thursday and told him he was heading to The
Show.
The next 24 hours were a blur.
From the short drive from Columbus to Pittsburgh to the scramble for at least
40 friends and family members to make it to the ballpark that's tucked hard
against the Allegheny River in time for Friday's first pitch.
Griffin is the latest in a string of high-profile arrivals in Pittsburgh, from
Skenes to rookie right-hander Bubba Chandler to catcher Henry Davis.
The future that has been talked about since general manager Ben Cherington was
hired in late 2019 is finally arriving. And perhaps it's telling of how far the
club has come that Griffin is joining a roster that has undergone a significant
upgrade in recent months with the additions of All-Star second baseman Brandon
Lowe, All-Star first baseman/outfielder Ryan O'Hearn and veteran designated
hitter Marcell Ozuna.
A year ago, fans chanted for owner Bob Nutting to sell the club during the home
opener. Those calls have faded, replaced by something seemingly just as rare:
optimism for a team that hasn't won a playoff series since the 1979 World
Series.
"This team is loaded," Griffin said. "I get to come in here and just be a piece
of this puzzle."
Perhaps a very big piece. For a very long time. The Pirates and Griffin have
engaged in talks about a contract extension that would lock him up for most of
the next decade.
Griffin demurred when asked about it Friday, though he made his intentions very
clear.
"All I'm going to say is, I want to be a Pirate for a long time," he said.
"This is a special place and I'm thankful to be here."
___
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