Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Now-Twins manager Derek Shelton found himself unwanted by the Pirates, and was fired last May.
- Shelton's brief break from daily coaching pressures led him to a unexpected side gig that reshaped his entire career path.
- Now he returns to the dugout with renewed purpose and a deeper appreciation for the sport he once wanted to abandon.
Derek Shelton didn’t want to have anything to do with baseball.
Shelton was fired by the Pittsburgh Pirates last May 9 after overseeing a rebuilding process for five-plus seasons that didn’t seem close to ever coming to fruition. When the Pirates got off to a 12-26 start, the Pirates decided to ax Shelton and promote bench coach Don Kelly to manager.
So, for two weeks, Shelton went home to Treasure Island, Fla, and basically did nothing.
Working for Sirius XM provided new perspective
Then SiriusXM contacted Shelton to see if was interested in doing some work on its MLB Network channel after he had done a weekly hit during his time as manager. In a way, the radio job is why Shelton is managing again in the major leagues, this time with the Minnesota Twins.
“When you work for one specific team, that’s really all you focus on,” Shelton said. “Or the team that comes in. Maybe the teams in your division. You get your love for the game back because you’re not focused solely on one team. The fact that I was able to watch a ton of different games, I was able to give my opinion on things. You get a little bit of that back. When you do this job, you get caught up in the day-to-day every day. You kind of forget why you want to do this.”
Shelton drew rave reviews for his work behind the microphone,
“I didn't know how it was going to go, but I had a lot of fun with it,” Shelton said.
Though Shelton could have stayed at Sirius XM, falling back in love with baseball made him want to get back in uniform. Shelton, though, wasn’t sure that he would go from radio right to managing. His career record with the Pirates was an abysmal 306-440.
Twins provide Derek Shelton with second chance
Yet the Twins knew Shelton from his time as their bench coach and hired him to replace the fired Rocco Baldelli.
“I think I knew I wanted to coach,” Shelton said. “There's only 30 of these (MLB manager) jobs, so opportunities are very scarce. Quite honestly, there were how many guys fired last year? Eight? And I got a job, so I'm very appreciative of that.
“Those have to line up in certain situations and this one lined up In a really good situation. It was something I debated at the end of the year. Do I want to continue to just do more media stuff and let that grow? But I feel like I'm too young to do what (the media) does right now."
The Twins aren’t in a deep rebuild like the Pirates were when Shelton was manager. They are more caught in between trying to win now and building for the future. Minnesota is 30-37 and seven games behind the division-leading Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central.
However, Shelton feels at home in the Twin Cities.
“I think the one thing about it is you know the inner workings, not only of the front office, but of all the ancillary things that are going on,” Shelton said. “You know who the clubhouse people are, who the traveling secretary is, little things that, when you got to a new organization you have to learn. But being able to already have those relationships built I think was important."
The Pirates, meanwhile, are 34-32 following
In addition to having his passion rekindled, Shelton learned something else from his time working in the media.
“You’re always right and you can change your opinion every day, and no one cares,” he said with a laugh
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