Pirates’ Derek Shelton spends ‘awesome’ day at Steelers’ facility with Mike Tomlin

If during the news conference after his first game as Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton drops a well-delivered “obviously,” we’ll know why.

Shelton and Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin have built a relationship over the seven months since Shelton was hired, and the two were joined by their respective general managers for a day at the Steelers’ UPMC Rooney Sports Complex late last month.

“It was awesome,” Shelton said from PNC Park during a video conference call with media Sunday. “We had lunch together. We walked through some of their draft process. We talked about different things. And then, honestly, as much success as he’s had here and as much respect as I’ve had for him, I talked to him about the city. I talked to him about the fans. I talked to him about Pittsburgh.

“He’s been very gracious in terms of offering his wife’s suggestions for my wife in different things. So I really appreciate that.”

. @steelers head coach Mike Tomlin fist-bumps @pirates manager Clint Hurdle next to Jon Gordon during a visit to Bradenton today. #PiratesST pic.twitter.com/2kOaOVqqc0

— Christopher Horner (@Hornerfoto1) March 17, 2017

Tomlin and Shelton’s longtime predecessor, Clint Hurdle, had a relationship. Tomlin made an annual visit to Bradenton, Fla., for Pirates spring training, and Shelton said Tomlin had plans to visit this year until the pandemic shut down sports.

“He was real excited about it,” Shelton said of Tomlin’s planned visit mid-March visit to LECOM Park.

When Shelton came back to Pittsburgh in preparation to ramp up for the resumption of play, he reached out to Tomlin to arrange lunch. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington came along, too, and Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert was part of the day, as well.

Colbert and Cherington had talked over the phone, but this was Shelton’s first time meeting Colbert.

“I think any time you can kind of cross-pollinate with different leadership groups and talk about things, (it’s a positive),” Shelton said. “There are some things that don’t line up (across different sports), but there’s a lot of things that do line up.”

Part of the intended purpose for the visit was to see how the Steelers staged their facility during the pandemic and how they were administering the NFL guidelines related to social distancing and hygiene.

Of course, masks and hand sanitizer weren’t the only topics discussed. Tomlin openly talks about the qualities that lend themselves to successful leadership, and he is an eager learner from others on the subject.

“When you are around people who are good leaders — and … Mike (is) such a good leader,” Shelton said, “any time you actually have the opportunity to talk to someone like that, especially me, I mean, I have coached for a while in the big leagues, but being in this (managerial) chair, that I wanted to ask about: how he led, and how he had interactions with people and what he did specific to players.

“And he was really gracious with his time. Unbelievable information. I’m very fortunate, and I hope that (relationship) continues to grow.”

Tomlin was in charge the most recent time the Steelers won the Super Bowl, the franchise’s third consecutive coach accomplish that feat. Shelton is out to snap a string of six Pirates managers who failed to win a World Series.

The wisdom gained from Tomlin were of benefit to Shelton, but what seemed to be the highlight of his visit to the South Side involved a second-floor trophy display.

“You walk around the one corner, and the Super Bowl trophies are all sitting right there,” Shelton said. “It’s something that kind of makes you step back and realize it’s really kind of a special place to be.”

Love baseball? Stay up-to-date with the latest Pittsburgh Pirates news.