Pirates Fans Boo Derek Shelton During Home Opener
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates fans have not seen much success in recent years and took it out on the team
The Pirates ahead of their home opener against the New York Yankees at PNC Park had their pre-game introductions. When they announced manager Derek Shelton, Pirates fans booed him resoundingly.
The reception for manager Derek Shelton as he was introduced on the field at PNC Park: pic.twitter.com/sZLtfuAn9Q
— Jack Hillgrove (@JHillgroveWTOV) April 4, 2025
Shelton took over as the Pirates manager on Nov. 27, 2019 and earned an extension on April 22, 2023.
The Pirates have struggled under Shelton during his tenure, going 294-414 (.415) through his first five seasons, as the team has never finished higher than fourth in the National League Central Division.
Pittsburgh finished with the worst record during the 2020 season, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, at 19-41 overall. They also finished with back-to-back 100-loss seasons afterwards, 61-101 in 2021 and 62-100 in 2022.
The Pirates had better starts the following two seasons, which gave the fanbase some interest early on.
They started 20-8 overall in 2023, before losing 11 of the next 12 games and eventually falling below .500 for a 76-86 record.
Pittsburgh had a record of 9-2 and 11-5 in April 2024, before falling below .500. They would get themselves back slightly above .500, 55-52 by July 30 and put themselves in contention for a Wild Card spot, but went 8-19 in August, with a 10-game losing streak, ending those chances.
The Pirates struggled again with their hitting last season, with .234 batting average as a team, tied for the seventh worst team batting average in the MLB, which saw them fire hitting coach Andy Haines.
They set a franchise record with 1,506 strikeouts, the fourth most in the MLB. They tied for the fourth worst on-base percentage at .301, the fourth worst slugging percentage at .371, leading to the fourth worst OPS (on-base plus slugging) at .672.
The Pirates also ranked in the bottom third of the MLB with 643 RBIs, No. 21, 1,283 hits and 17 triples, No. 22, 665 runs, No. 24, 160 home runs and 2,033 total bases, No. 25 and 236 doubles, No. 26.
Walks was the only category that Pittsburgh didn't feature in the lower end of the MLB, tied with the Atlanta Braves at No. 17 with 485 walks.
Only two starters who played more than 100 games had a batting average of .250 of more, in Oneil Cruz at .259 and All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds at .275.
The Pirates are currently 2-5, as they lost three of their four games to the Marlins, all coming on walk-offs, and lost two of three against the Rays.
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.