Former Pirate Rinku Singh describes journey from baseball to pro wrestling

Pirates fans never got to see Rinku Singh pitch in a Major League game at PNC Park. But now they can watch him on a big stage.

As a blossoming wrestling star.

Singh grew up in Bhadohi, India. He and fellow Pirates minor league teammate Dinesh Patel were thrust onto the baseball scene together in 2008. They won an Indian baseball reality show called “The Million Dollar Arm,” set up by sports agent J.B. Bernstein.

After being the top performers in the event, Singh and Patel got formal training from Southern Cal pitching coach Tim House. Then they had a tryout in front of 20 major league scouts before eventually signing with the Pirates.

Some Pirates fans scoffed and rolled their eyes, as the Pirates appeared to be throwing darts at anything as they languished during the 20 years of sub-.500 baseball. But the “Rinku and Dinesh” tag team were also treated by most in the fan base as a lovable duo and a fantastic Cinderella story.

So much that Disney made a “Million Dollar Arm” movie with Jon Hamm.

LISTEN: Ex-Pirates prospect Rinku Singh discusses WWE career

Patel pitched in only 15 games over two years with the Gulf Coast League Pirates before going back to India. But Singh pitched parts of five seasons in the minors, compiling a 10-6 record with a 2.97 ERA.

Various injuries — including a Tommy John surgery and a broken elbow — took years from his career. He kicked around the Australian baseball league and made a brief comeback in 2016.

But now Singh is part of a different tag team. A literal tag team.

That’s him (wearing the gold arm band) with partner Saurav Gurjar. The tandem, known as “Indus Sher,” is one of the up-and-coming attractions on “NXT” (Wednesdays, USA Network). That’s the WWE’s alternative third brand that started as a developmental system.

“A lot of changes since we spoke last,” Singh said to me via phone on Wednesday. “It has been great.”

A lot of changes, no doubt. Not just his sport but his size. Singh always had a good frame, which was part of the appeal when he was signed. When he broke into the league, Singh was almost 6-foot-3 and over 190 pounds.

Now he says he’s up to 266. As a vegetarian, by the way.

“It is very hard to get enough protein,” Singh said. “There’s not many options. Back home, it’s easy for vegetarians. But, in the United States, it’s a lot harder to find options as a vegetarian. But I’m doing the best that I can.”

Singh said he was unsure what he wanted to do after baseball at first. He even considered pursuing a football career as a linebacker, but his family talked him out of it.

Can you imagine this version of Rinku as a Steelers linebacker? Pfft! And you thought the “Duck” Hodges phenomenon at Heinz Field was something!?

Wrestling, though, was his path.

Singh has a love for the craft dating to when he first saw former WWE champ John Cena in the ring. He also says that he idolized Cena because of his philanthropy work (breast cancer awareness, anti-bullying campaigns, Make-A-Wish Foundation), and he wants to do similar outreach.

Singh says that’s an especially important angle for him to embrace as a wrestler because he enjoyed that part of his Pirates playing career, and he has been stunned by the recognition he is getting from young fans in India.

“The kids know so much about pro wrestling already. The fans’ response was absolutely amazing and heartwarming,” Singh said.

It was his adviser, Ash Vasudevan, along with some connections with the “Million Dollar Arm” crew who got him a tryout in Dubai within two years of starting his career. Shortly thereafter, he was on a plane out of Mumbai. That’s where he met Gurjar. They were heading to the same audition. Now they are tag-team partners.

“I found more of a brother in America than a wrestling partner,” Singh explained. “We signed together, trained together, had so many matches together in ‘NXT.’ Now here we are, tag-team partners. We think the same way. Having him, he’s a great partner.”

It’s a wise move by WWE. If “Indus Sher” can be cultivated into a popular duo at the NXT level, there is a potential 1.2-billion-person audience in India that would love to have a national interest in the sport.

“I have never seen a madness of pro wrestling in India (like I have) anywhere else around the world,” Singh said. “Saurav was an actor in India and did many big TV series (Mahabharat). Very popular shows. And people knew me from being India’s very first baseball player. It’s a huge pop for (Indian wrestling fans).”

Singh also heaped praise on the Pirates organization and talked about what the franchise meant to him getting into North American professional sports.

“The Pittsburgh Pirates gave me an opportunity to be a better baseball player or a better human being,” Singh gushed. “They give you every tool possible to make a better version of yourself. And that’s what WWE did. ”