PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Fired by the Pirates last May, taking a media job for a few months, Derek Shelton returned to PNC Park Friday afternoon as the manager of the Minnesota Twins.
He said all of the things you would expect him to after an early day visit with team members to the Clemente Museum in Lawrenceville.
“I love this ballpark,” Shelton said sitting in the visitor’s dugout. “We’ve talked about that a lot over the last five years. There are a lot of good feelings. The first opportunity to manage. A lot of friendships. A lot of people here that I care about. There are a lot of good thoughts.”
The Pirates were 12-26 last year when Shelton was let go in favor of his bench coach Don Kelly. Shelton said he was asked immediately to do some TV work and after a couple of weeks of sitting around the house, he decided to do it. That allowed him an opportunity to follow all major league teams and kept him in the public eye.
After coaching with the Twins before coming to Pittsburgh, Minnesota decided to give him a second opportunity just months after managing the Pirates.
What has changed for him?
“I think probably the most important thing, you look at things … you want to highlight things you think you did well,” Shelton said to Pittsburgh reporters. “Especially because of the fact when I was let go, I had a whole summer to really reflect on the things that I think I need to do better, things that I didn’t do as well. That’s where I spent a lot of time reflecting.”
He learned about being a better listener, more attention to detail. Those are things he needed to do better while leading the Pirates.
"I wish it would have went differently, obviously,” Shelton said Friday. “I think there were a lot of factors that come into play there. Some of them are out of my control. To look back on it, I will never look back on it in a negative connotation, regardless of how anything went down, how it went.”
“Do I wish we would have had better teams here? Yeah. Was some of that out of my control? Yeah. But looking back at it negatively? I will never do that."
As for this 2026 Pirates group?
“This year, the Pirates off to a really good start, I think that’s good for this city,” Shelton said. “It’s good for this fan base. This fan base deserves a winner. They’re doing a really good job of building a nice club.”
Still tight with Cherington
Shelton maintains a strong friendship with Pirates GM Ben Cherington and said he’s dominated the draft pitching-wise recently. He called it an elite job and he’s happy for Cherington.
“He's a guy that I admire a lot,” Shelton said. “I'm very happy that he was allowed to do some of the things he was allowed to do this year."
Facing Jared Jones
While pleased Jared Jones is making his first start since September 2024, Shelton said he wishes that game was Monday, after this series ends.
“Really happy for Jared,” Shelton said. “He’s grinded through multiple injuries. I think what we saw in ’24, you saw how electric his stuff is. But the fact that he’s hard to work hard to get back, very pleased for him. He’s such a good kid.”
Jones is even wearing Shelton’s number while he managed the Pirates, 17.
"I actually texted him when I saw that,” Shelton said. “I love it. I told him, 'Hell, I would have given it to you if you would have wanted it,' I didn't know he wanted it.”
“But I did see that. I think the fact that he's starting today is cool."
LISTEN to what Twins manager Derek Shelton said about his return
LISTEN to what Twins manager Derek Shelton said about his return
