Pirates manager Derek Shelton never met Phil Coyne, but he's well aware of Coyne's devotion to the Pirates.
Coyne, who was a stadium usher for the Pirates for a remarkable 82 years, passed away Friday at the age of 102.
"I want to start by giving my heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Phil Coyne and his family," Shelton said before his pregame press conference prior to Saturday's game against the Cubs.
Coyne began ushering for the Pirates in 1936, working at Forbes Field, Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park.
"Anybody that dedicates that much of their life to anything, but to the Pirates, is really cool," Shelton said. "Working at Forbes Field, seeing Babe Ruth, that's like living legend type stuff. My heart goes out to him and his family and I want to thank him for everything he did for the Pirates for a long time."
Coyne became a fixture at Pirates games over the years, but Shelton, who is only in his second year managing in Pittsburgh, never got the opportunity to speak with Coyne.
"I did not get a chance to meet him unfortunately, which stinks," he said. "It would've been really cool. He saw Babe Ruth's (final three home runs of his career). He watched Pie Traynor manage. That's kind of cool.
"A lot of the retired numbers that are here, he's seen probably all of them. He probably saw guys play that didn't have numbers. That's kind of cool."
Coyne stepped away from PNC Park in 2018 after working more than 6,000 games.
