From bleachers to the mound at PNC Park, 'big fan' Randy Dobnak prepares to face Pirates

Back in the days when Pittsburgh Pirates fans were permitted in PNC Park, many of them hung over the outfield railings, yelling at their heroes, hoping to get a wave in return.

South Park’s Randy Dobnak was among them.

He’s coming back to PNC Park on Wednesday, but he won’t be hoping one of the Pirates say, “Hi.”

He’ll be trying to strike them out.

These days, he doesn’t need to wait in line or buy a ticket to get inside PNC Park. He’s a member of the starting rotation for one of MLB’s best teams, the Minnesota Twins. He’ll be their starting pitcher against the Pirates.

“I probably went to over 150 games in my lifetime there,” he said, bragging that he attended the last game at Three Rivers Stadium and the first at PNC Park. “Oh, yeah, big fan. Every single time they would win, I would tweet, ‘Raise the Jolly Roger.’ Now, I’ll actually be on the field playing rather than being in the stands. Pretty cool.”

3 years ago I never received that call and was off to play in the @uspbl. I wouldn’t change my journey for the world. To all the athletes overlooked; never give up on yourself! Work hard, believe in yourself, and keep chasing your dreams!!?⚾️ https://t.co/ARxf81OE95

— Randy Dobnak (@Dobnak_) June 12, 2020

Dobnak advanced from South Park High School, where he helped his team win a 2013 WPIAL championship (but only earned second-team all-section honors) to Division II Alderson Broaddus (he went 26-12 with a 2.61 ERA in four years) to just another college pitcher hoping to get drafted.

It never happened.

“I had a few teams reach out to me, but I don’t know if any of them came to watch me play,” he said, noting Alderson Broaddus is located 30 minutes off the highway in Philippi, W.Va. “Every time they came to see me play, it was either raining or snowing.

“I always had good grades (3.5 GPA with a double major in accounting and business administration), a good arm and was never really hurt much. I went out and did what I had to do to get the win. I guess everything happens for a reason.”

After his senior season at Alderson Broaddus — it was his only scholarship offer, by the way — he was talking with his buddy Dan Essian’s father, Jim, the manager of the Utica Unicorns, an independent team in Michigan.

“Why don’t you come play for me?” Jim said.

“We’ll see what happens,” said Dobnak, eyeing the draft.

“Sure enough, the draft came around after I graduated (in 2017). I didn’t get picked up. He called me up and said, ‘I still got a spot for you.’ ”

His answer: “I’ll be there tomorrow.”

He told his fiancee (now wife Aerial), “If nothing happens, we’ll move on from there.”

Something happened.

While pitching for the Unicorns, Dobnak (6-foot-1, 230 pounds) caught the eye of the Twins, who signed him to a minor league contract before the end of the summer of 2017.

Dobnak was pitching so well last season he advanced from High A to Double-A to Triple-A and finally to the Twins. He appeared in nine games for the Twins, compiling a 2-1 record, 1.59 ERA and 1.129 WHIP. He was chosen as the Twins starter in Game 2 of the American League Divisonal Series, losing to the New York Yankees, 8-2.

“The guy is fearless,” said Pirates manager Derek Shelton, the Twins’ bench coach last year.

In two starts this season, Dobnak is 1-1 with a 1.00 ERA.

“Crazy things happen,” he said.

In two offseasons, he worked as an Uber driver in Pittsburgh, garnering a 4.99 rating on a scale of 5 from his customers — an achievement that’s listed as part of his Twitter profile.

His quick rise through the MLB system that ignored him only three years ago brings him back to PNC Park on Wednesday, and he admits it will be strange experience.

“It’s everybody’s dream, really, growing up in Pittsburgh. You go to Pirates games, if you’re a baseball fan, possibly pitching for your hometown team,” he said. “In my case, it’s a little different. It’s going to be pretty surreal just being out there on the mound after watching countless games, spending countless dollars coming to games with that backdrop. It’s going to be pretty awesome.”

He said Andrew McCutchen was one of his favorites. “Great player, great dude, even a better person off the field,” he said. “I really looked up to him.

“I’d be in the outfield, bleacher seats, yelling for him to say ‘Hi’ to me. Every once in a while, he turned around and said ‘Hi,’ I thought that was the coolest thing ever.”

The only problem is that his wife and parents can’t watch, other than on TV.

“They did a lot of research on all the (Downtown) hotels,” he said, “to see if they can get a room with a view.

“I joked, ‘Climb up on top of the Clemente Bridge. Maybe you can see the game from there.’ ”