Kevin Gorman: Derek Shelton receives endorsement from Pirates legend

Not long after being hired as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Derek Shelton was having dinner with his wife, Alison, and some friends in Florida when he received a phone call.

Shelton didn’t recognize the number but answered anyway, leaving the table for the conversation. The way his face lit up as Shelton shared the story Wednesday at PNC Park was a giveaway this wasn’t just any congratulatory call.

“I walked back to the table and was like, ‘Ali, Jim Leyland just called me!’ ” Shelton said. “I’m getting goosebumps talking about it. It was a surreal moment, one of the coolest moments, to get a call from a guy who lives here, is part of the community here and is a Hall of Fame manager.”

Shelton said all the right things at his introductory news conference, talking about changing the culture and building personal relationships with players and embracing PNC Park as the most beautiful ballpark in the National League.

Shelton also reminded us we won’t know what kind of a manager he will be or what kind of team the Pirates will have until they start playing at spring training. It’s way too early to tell after a 93-loss season that caused a housecleaning in the front office and coaching staff.

But if Leyland’s word means anything — and it should, as he is one of the most popular and successful managers of the last four decades — then the Pirates just received a ringing endorsement for hiring the right guy in the 49-year-old Shelton.

Shortly after Shelton was introduced by new general manager Ben Cherington as the 41st manager in Pirates history, I called Leyland to talk about his phone call and that Welcome-to-Pittsburgh moment for Shelton.

Turns out, their conversation ran much deeper. Leyland and his son, Patrick, took Shelton to breakfast Tuesday at Chartiers Country Club.

“I was very impressed,” Leyland said. “He has a good grasp on everything. He doesn’t have all the answers. He’s very bright, smart and he’s got a good feel for players.

“I think he’s going to be a good fit for Pittsburgh, and I thought Clint Hurdle was a hell of a manager. I really have the utmost respect for Ben Cherington — he’s really sharp — and I think they’re going to be a successful twosome. I really do.”

That isn’t their only shared experience. Like Leyland, Shelton was a minor league catcher who paid his dues the old-fashioned way, by managing in the minors with the New York Yankees before rising through the major league ranks as a hitting coach with the Tampa Bay Rays, quality control coach for the Toronto Blue Jays and bench coach for the Minnesota Twins.

“I’m thrilled,” Leyland said. “I have a great appreciation for what Derek went through because it’s similar to what I did. He rode the buses. I have a little more of a personal feeling about it. When I came here, they said, ‘Jim who?’ ”

Now, Leyland’s name rings like a legend on the North Shore.

The Pirates should be so lucky for Shelton to have the success Leyland did, inheriting a 57-win team from Chuck Tanner in 1986 and winning three consecutive division titles from 1990-92 with a team that averaged 96 victories over that span. Leyland later won the World Series with the Florida Marlins in 1997 and led the Detroit Tigers to the World Series in 2012.

Then again, the Pirates should be lucky for Shelton to have the success Hurdle did, inheriting a 57-win team from John Russell in 2011 and earning three consecutive wild-card berths from 2013-15 with a team that averaged 93 victories over that span. No wonder Leyland was a Hurdle fan.

But Leyland also sees something of himself in Shelton, who shares an old-school story with a new-school view of the game. They talked everything from Pirates baseball to Pittsburghers.

Shelton was a sponge, soaking up whatever Leyland shared.

“He told me the people here are great. He said, ‘They’re honest, they’re hard-working and they trust people that give them the same,’ ” Shelton said. “His best piece of advice: ‘Be yourself. Be who you are.’ That made me feel good.

“That gives me confidence, especially when the person you’re referring to is someone that I have the utmost respect for. Honestly, one of the highlights of getting the job was getting a phone call from him. It meant the world to me.”

And it should mean the world to the Pirates that Shelton’s first taste of Pittsburgh involved learning from a legend such as Leyland, an old manager sharing his views with the new.

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