This story was excerpted from Justice delos Santos’ Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
When Derek Shelton was asked about his plans for the All-Star Red Carpet Show in Seattle, he kept his plans close to himself. He wanted the fit to be a surprise. The result ended up being pretty on-brand.
Instead of doling out hundreds upon hundreds on custom-made outfits, Shelton, his wife, Alison, and three kids, Jackson, Isabella and Gianna paid homage to Pearl Jam -- a Shelton favorite -- and Nirvana, both of which originate from Seattle.
“[Ali] said to me, ‘Either everyone really digs this, or everybody is really gonna hate it,’” Shelton said. “I think everyone really liked it.”
The All-Star Red Carpet show was one of several events Shelton and his family had the opportunity to experience at his first career All-Star Game as a member of manager Rob Thomson’s staff.
“It was a lot of fun,” Shelton said. “Having done this for 18 years now, you hope everyone could experience it. It’s a really cool experience to see that many good players together in one clubhouse. Then it’s a really fun experience for your family.”
Shelton wasn’t the only Pirate to make the trip to the Pacific Northwest. Mitch Keller earned his first career All-Star nomination as part of the initial roster release and David Bednar earned his second career All-Star selection after Clayton Kershaw was placed on the injured list.
Bednar, who pitched a scoreless inning in last year’s All-Star Game, was merely a spectator for the 93rd Midsummer Classic. Keller was called upon to pitch the second inning. He retired Corey Seager on a line out; allowed a solo home run to Yandy Díaz on a hanging sweeper; struck out Adolis García swinging on a perfectly-executed sweeper that darted out of the zone; and got Austin Hayes to ground out.
Shelton enjoyed watching Keller pitch against some of baseball’s best. That said, Shelton, as any manager would, harbored concerns about Keller’s health, especially given that Keller was pitching on short rest. Shelton joked that Caleb Cotham, the National League’s pitching coach, has the “worst job” because he’s responsible for maintaining the health of everyone’s pitchers.
“When he walked off the mound healthy, there was a sigh of relief,” Shelton said. “You worry about that. But it was really fun to watch him compete there.”
Following his lone inning of work, Keller took a seat next to Shelton on the bench and talked about the experience. Shelton recalled how Keller, who traversed no shortage of struggles on the path to being named an All-Star, radiated with joy when talking about the experience.
“He loved every minute of it,” Shelton said. “I know he gave up a home run, but being on the mound there, with the best players … being there, he genuinely soaked it in and was kind of expressing that as we were talking. I thought that was really kind of what the game’s about.”
Shelton had an opportunity to share a couple of moments with Thomson, whom he’s known since his playing days. Shelton was a Minor Leaguer in the Yankees system in the early-1990s around the same time that Thomson was in the infancy of his coaching career. Shelton reminisced that he used to babysit Thomson’s two daughters, both of whom are now engaged and beginning families.
"I sat in his office a little bit and we reminisced about going back to our Yankee days when we were in the Minor Leagues,” Shelton said. “I was showing a lot of gratitude towards the things that I've learned from him and appreciated him including me in and being a part of and then him expressing to me that about selecting me.”