Don Kelly Wants to Return as Pirates Manager
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PITTSBURGH — Don Kelly is nearing an end to his first season as a manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates and it's a role he envisions himself himself in at the start of next season.
Kelly took over as manager for the Pirates, after general manager Ben Cherington fired then manager Derek Shelton on May 8, after a 12-26 start to the 2025 season.
Cherington then made Kelly, who spent the past six seasons under Shelton as bench coach, as their new manager, not placing the interim title on him, instead making him the permanent manager going forward.
Kelly said prior to the series opener vs. the Athletics at PNC Park on Sept. 19, the last home series of the season, that he would want to come back for next season and wants to improve the Pirates every chance.
“I would love to," Kelly said on coming back as Pirates manager. "I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been challenging. I’ve learned a lot through it. I’m certainly not perfect every single day. I’ve continued to learn, continued to get better. I would love to continue on. My focus is on every single day, trying to hold myself to that standard, hold our staff and hold our players to that standard of getting better every single day.”
Kelly has led the Pirates to a 53-62 record since taking over as manager, with the Pirates struggling as of late, with just one win in their past 13 games, after previously winning 12 of their last 16 games from Aug. 18-Sept. 4, which included sweeps of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies at home.
He had a 21-5 record over winning teams at home, after the sweep of the Dodgers, which was one of the best records for a manager in their first season at the helm.
The Pirates have still had a poor season despite Kelly taking over later on, 65-89 overall, 29.0 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in first place of the National League Central Division, 15.0 games out of the last NL Wild Card spot and the fourth worst record in baseball.
They suffered their seventh consecutive losing season and 10th straight season without a postseason appearance, as Pirates fans have endured poor campaigns, with little success in sight.
He is a native of western Pennsylvania and wasborn in nearby Butler on Feb. 15, 1980. He played for Mt. Lebanon High School, winning the state title as a senior and then attended Point Park University where he played three seasons, hitting .413 and striking out just 20 times over 500 at-bats.
Kelly would play for the Petersburg Generals in the Coastal Plain League during the summer of 2000 and excelled, leading to the Detroit Tigers taking him in the eighth round of the 2001 MLB Draft.
The Pirates eventually signed Kelly on a minor league contract in 2007 and he played in 25 games that season, slashing .148/.281/.148 for an OPS of .429.
He would end up back in the MLB with the Detroit Tigers and spent six seasons with them from 2009-14, playing in 544 games. He slashed .234/.297/.340 for an OPS of .637, with 244 hits, 28 doubles, seven triples, 23 home runs, 98 RBIs and 87 walks to 163 strikeouts.
Kelly spent two seasons with the Miami Marlins in 2015 and 2016, but played just 15 games at the MLB level.
He then went into coaching, serving as an assistant on the player development staff for the Tigers, before earning promotion to scout. He spent a season with the Houston Astros as their first base coach in 2019 before taking over as bench coach for the Pirates on Dec. 7, 2019.
Kelly could stay on for the next season, but if the Pirates front office sees changes, such as Cherington's firing, he may likely move on as well.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.