Kevin Gorman stories, Page 101

An economic battle that has given baseball a black eye saw negotiations between the owners and players reach an impasse Saturday night, leaving in limbo what the season will look like this summer. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred declared Wednesday night there will be baseball amid a global pandemic, but what...

When it came to Bill Fralic’s blocking for the Pitt Panthers, there is no shortage of superlatives. A new statistic was coined, and a legendary offensive line coach gave a ringing endorsement. The Pancake Block was created in Fralic’s honor, for the ferocity with which he flattened defenders. The late...

The Pittsburgh Pirates remained steadfast late Thursday night that they had no intention of drafting a handful of right-handed pitchers who were converted position players or pulled double duty. It just happened to work out that way. “Not a particular demographic we were pursuing, the position-player-to-pitcher demographic, but it just...

With their final pick of the MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t pull any surprises. Once again, they went with a right-handed pitcher. The Pirates chose Logan Hofmann of Northwestern State on Thursday night in the fifth found (No. 138), giving them five righties in six picks. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound...

The Pittsburgh Pirates turned the second day of the MLB Draft into a run on right-handed pitching. After taking New Mexico State shortstop Nick Gonzales in the first round and South Carolina right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski in the competitive balance round Wednesday night, the Pirates on Thursday picked three consecutive righty...

The Pittsburgh Pirates are making a run on right-handed pitching in the MLB Draft, taking their fourth consecutive by selecting Appalachian State senior reliever Jack Hartman in the fourth round (No. 108) on Thursday. “I’m speechless,” Hartman said in a statement released by Appalachian State. “I know that might sound...

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected another right-handed pitcher when they took Nick Garcia of Chapman University (Calif.) with their third-round pick (No. 79) of the MLB Draft. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Garcia went 9-0 with a 0.64 ERA and recorded 12 saves as the closer on Chapman’s 2019 Division III national champion...

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Southern California high school pitcher Jared Jones with their second-round pick (No. 44 overall) on Thursday in the MLB Draft. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound right-hander from La Mirada High School, a University of Texas recruit, has a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and a plus-slider but...

When Carmen Mlodzinski committed to South Carolina before his sophomore year of high school, he was a shortstop with a strong arm who was warned that he might end up on the mound. How Mlodzinski (pronounced Ma-gin-skee) became a pitcher who was a first-day draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates...

The first round of their first MLB Draft together was lining up in a way that had Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington and his baseball operations staff feeling “really good.” The order of the picks wasn’t what they expected, as Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad went higher than expected at...

With their second pick on the first day of the MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected college pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski of South Carolina 31st overall in the Competitive Balance Round A. With the 31st pick in the #MLBDraft, we have selected Carmen Mlodzinski from the University of South Carolina.Welcome to...

Hours before the MLB Draft on Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates released 39 minor league players in a cost-cutting move. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington warned last week that cuts were coming, a result of anticipated contraction of minor league teams and the likelihood there won’t be a full minor league...

The Pittsburgh Pirates have the No. 7 overall pick in the MLB Draft, and it’s the first chance for Ben Cherington to make his mark as general manager in a way that predecessors David Littlefield and Neal Huntington couldn’t. If the past two decades for the Pirates are any indication,...

When Ben Cherington conducted a call on Zoom last week to discuss the MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager was jokingly asked to divulge the team’s first-round target. “If you want to tell us who we’re taking,” Cherington said, “you have as good a guess as I do, probably,...

Before his first MLB Draft as Pittsburgh Pirates general manager, Ben Cherington was asked about his philosophy on making a first-round pick and gave the type of answer that wouldn’t tip his hand. “The simple, boring answer is best player available,” Cherington said last week on a conference call with...

Since trading Gerrit Cole, the Pittsburgh Pirates have been searching for an ace for their pitching staff. After losing Jameson Taillon to Tommy John surgery and Chris Archer to neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, they are faced with a more daunting challenge. Forget finding an ace. The Pirates will have...

As the NBA and NHL prepare for the playoffs, baseball’s return remains on hold as MLB owners and the players’ association continue to haggle over economic issues. On Thursday, officials from the MLBPA held a digital meeting with more than 100 players, including the union’s executive board, then released a...

Two weeks into spring training, Chris Archer was counting down the days until Opening Day and the possibility of pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Tampa Bay Rays. For Archer, it would have marked a return to Tropicana Field and a shot at redemption for the ill-fated and lopsided...

Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington confirmed Wednesday that an abridged spring training to prepare for an MLB season this summer would be held at PNC Park. “If it happens, and assuming it happens, it would take place in Pittsburgh,” Cherington said on a conference call, adding that the club...

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Chris Archer will miss the 2020 MLB season after undergoing surgery to relieve symptoms of neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. The Pirates said the surgery was performed in St. Louis by Dr. Robert Thompson, a vascular surgeon at Washington University Center for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome at Barnes-Jewish Hospital....

The Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday spoke out against the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, calling it “yet another in a long, sad line of senseless acts of racial injustice in our country” and vowing to invest “the time, energy and resources necessary to help effect positive change.” In...