SAN FRANCISCO — When Don Kelly awoke last May 8, his life certainly changed. The Pirates fired Derek Shelton. Kelly, a Mt. Lebanon and Point Park product who’s unfailingly proud of Pittsburgh, was named the replacement on an interim basis.
It was the first-ever managerial gig for Kelly, who turned down a half-dozen interviews to stay home, prioritizing family over professional advancement.
The past year has included a lot. Kelly steadied the Pirates, finishing 59-65 in 2025. He constructed a coaching staff, was involved in a busy and productive offseason and now has the Pirates believing they can contend in the NL Central.
While the world around Kelly has changed a bunch, he has not. His office remains plain, adorned only by pictures of his family, some Pirates mementos and a miniature basketball hoop his kids insisted on hanging over the door.
But acting on advice from one of his biggest mentors, Jim Leyland, Kelly has tried very hard to remain the same person — humble, caring and authentic.
“We have to authentically be ourselves,” Kelly said. “When you’re genuine, you’re not trying to fake anything and you can have honest conversations around any topic.”
More than pitching changes, lineup construction or in-game strategy, that has been one of the areas where Kelly feels like he’s been challenged — and has grown. And that’s not a slight on the baseball stuff; it’s just always been a prominent part of Kelly’s life.
The change over the past 12 months has been sometimes having to tell players news they don’t want to hear. Like Leyland, he tries to keep it simple and direct and never lie to a player.
“Sometimes those direction conversations aren’t easy,” Kelly said. “But you have to find ways to have them that end up impacting the Pirates in a positive way.”
Many of those conversations were happening a year ago around this time, when Kelly took over. He described the transition as “drinking through a firehose” due to backfilling his old bench coach job as best as possible (with Gene Lamont), as well as crafting better communication and charting a new course.
It wasn’t easy for Kelly.
The Pirates started 12-26 during a season where competitive baseball was expected. Energy around the team at the time was extremely low. Fundamentals lacked.
But Kelly, due in part to the respect he’s gained by being himself, turned things around and got everyone to buy what he was selling.
Kelly’s bunch went 59-65 the rest of the way. They also played cleaner fundamental baseball, while Kelly emphasized team-wide accountability. The consummate nice guy also showed his fiery side, including when he was ejected from the second game he ever managed.
“Something I’ve talked about over the past year is always trying to be prepared,” Kelly said. “In this role, it’s almost being over-prepared because you never know what’s going to happen or come through the door.”
With a full offseason in his current seat, the firehose turned into a sprinkler and now perhaps a squirt bottle, depending on the day. That part for Kelly has been nice, setting goals and expectations for staff and players during Spring Training and working to maintain that culture.
It’s uniquely Kelly, one predicated on working hard but also having fun, on being intense and caring but also not wrapped around an axle.
Big picture, Kelly has hit the message of his hometown hard. Parts of it he can’t help. Growing up in Pittsburgh, he knows how much the Pirates mean to the city and how different things feel when the Pirates win. But he was also a player and knows the most powerful things in any sport are player-driven.
So, from Kelly’s seat, that means helping the entire group understand Pittsburgh, what makes it tick and what can happen if they do this right.
“For me, it’s natural. It’s who I am,” Kelly said. “Growing up here, obviously I think the world of Pittsburgh. Talking about some conversations I had with some players last year, when it starts to be player-led and they feel that, it’s not just a cliched yinzer who’s coming out saying, ‘Oh, this is how we should be.’
“It’s a great identity for how we’re going to compete every single day. I think the team has taken that on. It’s been fun to watch.”
As someone who was only starting a new journey this time last year, Kelly also knows there’s a long way to go. His club plays hard. There’s a positive culture, likable players, much improved leadership and talent. But it’s also something that has to be proven and re-proven every day.
There will be tough times, but the same as when he took over, Kelly tries incredibly hard to be the same person every day, hoping his players will feed off of that. He’s also not afraid to be a human being.
“I think vulnerability is a big thing,” Kelly said. “We don’t expect players to be perfect. That’s the goal … but we also know how hard the game is.
“When things don’t go perfectly, how do we put it behind us and keep going? That’s been the challenge for me. Being authentic, being open and honest in conversation, then trying to be the same guy every day regardless of what happened the day before and leading in that because that’s what we’re asking the players to do.”
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.