Kelly Rosenwasser was on a morning walk on Friday when one of her daughters called with an urgent message. Ellie Rosenwasser saw on Instagram a few Pirates players were at an area Sheetz, and attendance wasn’t optional for the baseball-crazed family.
The Rosenwassers nailed the correct Sheetz and even grabbed a cone on their way — legally, of course. When they arrived, Jared Jones signed and hoisted it and posed for pictures, leaving the entire family buzzing with excitement.
“This is unreal,” Ellie’s sister Abby said.
It felt that way, yes.
Jones, Konnor Griffin and Nick Gonzales randomly appeared at the Sheetz on Route 228 in Cranberry Township around lunchtime on Friday, delivering food, handing out gas cards and tickets, posing for pictures and signing autographs.
The event shocked fans who were filling up their tanks or grabbing lunch, and it gave Pirates players a way to say thank you in a lighthearted and fun way to those who support them.
“These people come out and support us after work,” Gonzales said. “We’re just coming out and supporting them before our work.”
Griffin was the first to deliver food from the Made-To-Order counter, calling out numbers like a seasoned Sheetz vet. Jones and Gonzales later took their turns, eventually walking around the dining area and hand-delivering each one.
The randomness of it at all was fun. Jones and Gonzales bumped into Mitch Keller’s wife, Clancy, in the parking lot. Players went back and forth between signing inside and chatting with customers to visiting the pumps and handing out gifts to anyone they could find.
Josh Oklejewski was driving to Cedar Point and said he always stops at Sheetz before road trips. He thought something might be amiss when he spotted the Pirate Parrot and the pierogis, but Oklejewski certainly didn’t expect to leave with an armful of free stuff.
“I met Konnor in there. He’s really nice, really chill. He’s awesome with people,” Oklejewski said. “Sheetz is amazing. This just made it even better.”
Steve Schulz lives in nearby Seven Fields and was working in the yard with his wife, Diane, when their son called, alerting them what was happening.
Steve and Diane dropped what they were doing and drove over, curious to see how it would go.
Steve and Diane watched the Pirates erase a five-run deficit against the Dodgers on Wednesday night, but they were equally as impressed with how engaged the players were.
“They’re so relatable,” Steve said. “They seem like a bunch of good guys. To see them out locally like this, it’s really cool.”
Similar to the Rosenwassers, Katie Potter saw the event on her Instagram stories and asked her kids, Jaden and Zenia, if they wanted to go.
They might’ve rivaled Griffin’s sprint speed getting to the car.
“They were like, ‘We gotta go!’ ” Katie said. “It’s a blessing to see the excitement through their eyes.”
For anyone who’s driven on 228, you’ve probably spent a few minutes at stoplights. Andrew Vecchi felt that pain making the 10-minute drive from his house that became more like 15 or 20.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” he said. “You don’t see Pirates players randomly showing up at Sheetz. But I got to take a picture with them. They’re super nice. It’s just awesome.”
Tina Yankello was grocery shopping when a friend called and told her Pirates players were hanging out at Sheetz. She figured her boys, Rocco and Tommy, might want to go. But they happened to have a few of the neighbors over at the time.
Tina brought the entire crew, as they sat and ate amid Pirates players delivering orders and posing for pictures, taking in the entire scene while crushing a few MTO sandwiches.
“We all got autographs,” Tommy said. “Such an awesome experience.”
For the players, too.
Jones got a kick out of the cone, though it was smaller and wouldn’t fit over his head. But appreciated the fans’ passion and getting to thank them on a personal (and unexpected) level.
“You see a lot of really cool faces who are excited to meet you. It’s pretty fun,” Jones said. “We’re just out here trying to make peoples’ day, handing out stuff, giving autographs, trying to make people smile.”
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.