Not-so-special delivery
With Kevin McClatchy announcing today that he will step down as CEO of the Pirates at season's end, it's the right time for a Frontier League story with Pirates connections.
I had a discussion with Traverse City Beach Bumbs coach David Beigh (pronounced Beak), who was the Pirates' second-round draft pick in 2000. The Pirates' first-round pick that year was Sean Burnett.
A 6-5, 245-pound right-hander, Beigh says the first thing the Pirates did after drafting him out of a high school in West Lafayette, Ind., was change his mechanics. They wanted Beigh to throw over the top instead of with a three-quarters delivery. Does anyone else think it makes no sense to draft a guy in the second round if you have to change his delivery? But, hey, it's the Pirates we're talking about.
The Pirates also wanted Beigh to drive off the pitcher's rubber and jump toward home plate at the end of his delivery (think Tom Seaver and you know what I mean). This was taught to all Pirates minor-league pitchers at the time.
Beigh says the change in mechanics led to an elbow injury that required reconstructive surgery. His career ended with a 2-10 record and 4.84 ERA.
After being released by the Pirates, Beigh attended Purudue University and attempted to play football for the Boilermakers but separated his shoulder twice in one season.
Beigh is trying to make it back in baseball with the Beach Bums. In addition to being on Jon Cahill's coaching staff, Beigh has been getting his arm back in shape. His velocity was down at the start of the season but he could be activated sometime after the all-star break.
I had a discussion with Traverse City Beach Bumbs coach David Beigh (pronounced Beak), who was the Pirates' second-round draft pick in 2000. The Pirates' first-round pick that year was Sean Burnett.
A 6-5, 245-pound right-hander, Beigh says the first thing the Pirates did after drafting him out of a high school in West Lafayette, Ind., was change his mechanics. They wanted Beigh to throw over the top instead of with a three-quarters delivery. Does anyone else think it makes no sense to draft a guy in the second round if you have to change his delivery? But, hey, it's the Pirates we're talking about.
The Pirates also wanted Beigh to drive off the pitcher's rubber and jump toward home plate at the end of his delivery (think Tom Seaver and you know what I mean). This was taught to all Pirates minor-league pitchers at the time.
Beigh says the change in mechanics led to an elbow injury that required reconstructive surgery. His career ended with a 2-10 record and 4.84 ERA.
After being released by the Pirates, Beigh attended Purudue University and attempted to play football for the Boilermakers but separated his shoulder twice in one season.
Beigh is trying to make it back in baseball with the Beach Bums. In addition to being on Jon Cahill's coaching staff, Beigh has been getting his arm back in shape. His velocity was down at the start of the season but he could be activated sometime after the all-star break.
posted by Chris Dugan at
3:54 PM
1 Comments:
Perhaps Ross could apply for the Pirates CEO position. At least he has a track record of 6 winning seasons.
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