Don Kelly Didn't Waste Any Time Recording His First Ejection As Pirates Manager

The new Pirates manager got his money's worth.

New Pirates manager Kelly gets his money's worth after being tossed / Screengrab via SportsNet Pittsburgh

Don Kelly is already hard at work as the new Pittsburgh Pirates manager. He was named manager on Thursday after the franchise made the decision to part ways with Derek Shelton after a horrid 12-26 start to the season.

The Pirates snapped a seven-game losing streak in Kelly's managerial debut Friday. He got busy Saturday, too, hilariously earning his first ejection as manager in only his second game with the gig. As Kelly argued balls and strikes from the dugout in the top of the sixth inning against the Atlanta Braves, home plate umpire Clint Vondrak wasn't having any of it.

"I'm not going to listen to it anymore. No more, done," Vondrak says toward the Pirates dugout overheard on the SportsNet Pittsburgh broadcast.

Well, Kelly wasn't done. He immediately said something else and Vondrak tossed him. Kelly ran out to get his money's worth before exiting stage left down the dugout stairs, handing off the lineup card and hitting the showers a bit early.

One thing about DK is he's gonna stick up for his guys.

In his second game as manager, he gets his first ejection 😳 pic.twitter.com/HkuqyxXzX8

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) May 10, 2025

Kelly, 45, entered the year as the Pirates' bench coach—his sixth season with that role. The recent promotion marks his first managerial job.

He played nine seasons in the big leagues, mostly with the Detroit Tigers. The Pittsburgh native began his career as a Pirate for one season and ended it with two seasons with the Miami Marlins after six years with the Tigers.

Now, he gets to lead his hometown team. And he's not afraid to shake things up.

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