Derek Lee Shelton (born July 30, 1970) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

coach and former

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

. He is the current

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

of the Pittsburgh Pirates of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). Shelton has spent the last 15 years as a coach in some capacity at the Major League level. Shelton was the hitting coach for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

from 2005 until 2009, and the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

from 2010 until 2016. Shelton then worked as the quality control coach for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

in 2017. He was the bench coach for the Minnesota Twins from 2018 through 2019.

College career

Shelton attended

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the Salukis. In his sophomore year (1990), the Salukis won 49 games and the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

championship, and played in the NCAA Tournament. Shelton led the Missouri Valley Conference in 1991, his junior year, by throwing out 43% of opposing baserunners attempting to steal. Shelton graduated from SIU with a degree in criminal justice.

Minor leagues

Playing career

Shelton was a minor league catcher in the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

organization in 1992 and 1993, playing alongside Derek Jeter and

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most ...

. Shelton played 46 games in his minor league career, and finished with a .341

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, and 19

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

Managing career

Shelton managed Yankee minor league teams for three seasons, from 2000 through 2002. His teams achieved a .624 winning percentage, and he managed several future MLB players, including Robinson Canó, Dioner Navarro, and

Chien-Ming Wang Chien-Ming Wang (; born March 31, 1980) is a Taiwanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals. He also played for ...

Major league coaching career

After spending five seasons as the hitting coach for the

, he accepted a job with the

at the same position after the 2009 season. The Rays fired him in September 2016. On December 12, 2016, the

hired him as a quality control coach for the 2017 season. On November 6, 2017, the Minnesota Twins hired Shelton as bench coach for the 2018 season. On November 27, 2019, Shelton was named the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Shelton became the 41st manager in club history.

Managerial record

Personal life

Shelton and his wife, Alison, have three children: Jackson, Bella, and Gianna. They live in Treasure Island, Florida.

References

External links

1970 births Living people American expatriate baseball people in Canada Baseball catchers Baseball coaches from Illinois Baseball players from Illinois Cleveland Indians coaches Greensboro Hornets players Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball hitting coaches Minor league baseball managers Minnesota Twins coaches Oneonta Yankees players People from Carbondale, Illinois Pittsburgh Pirates managers Tampa Bay Rays coaches Toronto Blue Jays coaches Southern Illinois Salukis baseball players {{US-baseball-manager-stub