Pirates call private tour of Negro Leagues Baseball Museum a 'really special' visit

Only two days after celebrating the trailblazing accomplishments of Roberto Clemente, the Pittsburgh Pirates made a special stop Friday by visiting the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.

“If you’ve never gone, it’s something that you should definitely see,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “It makes you have a newfound respect for Negro League players and what they went through and the struggles, and how they’ve come into the league.”

It was the first visit for Pirates outfielder Cole Tucker, who is biracial, and he initially worried that it wouldn’t happen because of social distancing guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic. Tucker was excited to learn that the Pirates were getting a socially distanced private tour from Bob Kendrick, president of the museum, before the opener of their three-game series against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

“It was really cool to have Bob give us the tour, and to learn all about baseball history,” Tucker said. “It was really special. I’d never been before. I’d heard a lot of good things, but that was my first trip.

“I know a little bit about it, just from being a baseball nut my whole life. When I was maybe 11 or 12, I went to Cooperstown. Some of the Negro League guys are in the Hall of Fame there. But I learned way more than I ever thought I would today, the whole history.”

Tucker said his favorite part was the Field of Legends display that features bronzed statues of Negro Leagues greats, especially the timeline in center field that documents the league history from 1920 until the early 1960s and how it coincided with major social and Civil Rights events in U.S. history.

“It was cool to see how American history kind of intertwined with sport,” Tucker said. “I think that was the coolest part. And just being on the field with all the immortalized statues that have been inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame was really cool.

“It’s so unique to be a major leaguer … and we say this all the time, that we’re major league players, but we don’t know everything about baseball. We don’t know all the rules, we don’t know the history. Days like this really kind of smack you in the face and remind you of that. It was really awesome.”

Shelton had previously visited the museum when he was hitting coach with the Tampa Bay Rays at the invitation of David Price when he was honored as the Wilbur “Bullet” Rogan Award as American League pitcher of the year for 2012.

“The thing that stands out now, being the manager of the Pirates, is how much Pittsburgh had the impact on the Negro Leagues, and being able to look at that through a different lens and focus,” Shelton said, referring to the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays. “The fact that we had two teams, and arguably the greatest catcher of all-time in Josh Gibson played there, it was neat to hear Mr. Kendrick talk about Pittsburgh. And, now being invested in Pittsburgh, it was very impactful.”

One of the things that stood out to Shelton is how the Pirates were the first team in Major League history to field a starting lineup with nine Black players in 1971. Another is an exhibit that had a plaque for every player who broke the color barrier to become the first Black player for each major-league team. A native of southern Illinois, Shelton hadn’t realized that Ernie Banks held that honor for the Chicago Cubs.

“That was really cool,” Shelton said. “I think that anytime you go there, you’re going to learn something, you’re going to learn more, and honestly, for everybody listening, watching, your readers, you guys, if you haven’t been, you should go. It’s unbelievable. It’ll touch you.”