Pittsburgh Pirates fans have almost made it through another off-season while players and team employees are gearing up for the return of baseball in 2017.
It’s getting so close, you can almost taste it!
Three more Fridays until the full squad is working out in Bradenton!☀️🌴⚾️#BaseballisComing https://t.co/h8SgWx1Sk7
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) January 27, 2017
That’s right, Spring Training is just a few weeks away. Clubhouse manager Scott Bonnett is packing up the gear:
.@Pirates let the packing continue. #Springtraining pic.twitter.com/5Es4ip1t42
— Scott (@bonnett_scott) January 27, 2017
and receiving shipment on A LOT of baseball caps…
.@Pirates #NewEra caps have arrived. pic.twitter.com/yZmoQfPbiz
— Scott (@bonnett_scott) January 25, 2017
while players spend their last few days at their home bases before packing up and heading to Bradenton!
Relaxing
With a new baby in the house and Spring Training just around the corner, Jared Hughes is grabbing any chance to sit back and enjoy some quality TV advertising when he can…
Commercial breaks are meh until a @MountainDew Kickstart commercial comes on. 🐈 https://t.co/iJeOF5KhZy
— Jared Hughes (@locatejared) January 28, 2017
Some people relax in front of the TV, others, at concerts by Christian metalcore band August Burns Red, like Trevor Williams…
— Trevor Williams (@MeLlamoTrevor) January 28, 2017
Elias Diaz spent some of his downtime helping others and inspiring others to helps as well.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPwFZCZDUck/?taken-by=eliasdiaz29
Josh Harrison spent some time hanging out with his University of Cincinnati Bearcats basketball team :
We've got @jhay_da_man in the house tonight! pic.twitter.com/mritiw66Qg
— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) January 27, 2017
Jordy Mercer went hunting via helicopter with a group of friends at his Mercer Ranch recently, and also did some skeet-shooting.
Then a little skeet shooting before dark! @MercerRanch #pull #knockout @zak_hobgood @BladeHobgood81 @kenny_hobgood pic.twitter.com/IFtVpprV56
— Jordy Mercer (@jordy_mercer) January 22, 2017
No Love for Pirates Pups
Recently, MLB started a contest for fans to vote for the best MLB Dogs. Sadly, Jared Hughes’ beloved Tilly was left out of the voting. Perhaps fans could write her in…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BObPDkpAtKk/?taken-by=_jaredhughes
Working Out
As February rolls in we’ll see more and more players making their way to Florida to begin workouts at Pirate City in Bradenton. Regardless of where they are, the guys are shaking out the cobwebs and wiping off the dust to start the new season (written in jest, as we all know these guys work on their skills year-round #NoOffseason)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPniFShgflN/?taken-by=felipe_43rivero
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPxdsYZASb0/?taken-by=felipe_43rivero
Francisco Cervelli is grinding through his pre-season workouts and, judging by this photo, he looks to be pulling out the big guns for some hitting advice. Will Jose Bautista help him eclipse his home run numbers from 2016? Stay Tuned!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPxSY9SBgsN/?taken-by=fran_cervelli
Starling Marte was getting some work in as well – remarking on the workout he said in the caption, “Damn, that’s all for the day!” Do they give out Golden cleats awards?
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPxUs1WD0eW/?taken-by=marte06
Not to be outdone, Gregory Polanco got in a beach workout yesterday. I hope he did the other side to, otherwise he might find himself unable to run in a straight line in the outfield!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPxw1GKjpuz/?taken-by=gpolanco25
That Time Gregory Polanco Won Twitter
There’s no doubt that politics and the goings-on in Washington DC are dominating our national psyche. So it’s a relief when someone broaches the issue in a non-political way. So when Ryan Spaeder tweeted this nugget about our beloved El Coffee:
#Pirates Gregory Polanco struck out looking 28 times in 2016…21 of which were on pitches outside of the strikezone.
— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) January 27, 2017
Gregory responded on Twitter in this hilarious way:
Maybe @realDonaldTrump can sign an executive order to fix my strike zone 😒 https://t.co/Y2NsBxFDWS
— Gregory Polanco ☕️ (@El_Coffee) January 27, 2017
This was right after he stole the collective hearts of Pirates fans across the world with the retweet of this photo of him and his parents, taken during a visit with ESPN reporters Antonietta Collins and Griselda D. Ramirez.
https://twitter.com/AntoniettaESPN/status/824429356403621889
The reporters also visited his childhood school,
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPvJpQvg1av/
as well as “the baseball field where it all started.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPvw2h9l7e-/
In Memory
Last weekend we awoke to news that not one, but two players had been killed in separate car accidents in the Dominican Republic. Former MLBer and member of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization Andy Marte, 33, and Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura, 24, were remembered by players throughout the week.
https://twitter.com/DHuddy41/status/823217403857223680
Life is precious. Show as much love as you can while you're here. My prayers are with the Marte and Ventura families.
— Trevor Williams (@MeLlamoTrevor) January 22, 2017
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPkrjtNAn03/?taken-by=alenhanson
RIP Andy Marte and Yordano Ventura! Condolences to their families! 😢
— Josh Harrison (@jhay_da_man) January 22, 2017
Estas cosa le rompen el corazón a uno #Dioslibrano y hazno coger un pokito de cabeza pic.twitter.com/F2QOxEhh40
— Starling Marte (@Starlingmart) January 22, 2017
To the families of Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte. I send my deepest condolences. RIP. pic.twitter.com/mC9EihLMXg
— Andrew McCutchen (@TheCUTCH22) January 22, 2017
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPksuiPD16n/?taken-by=gpolanco25
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPkYk4qjbEV/?taken-by=gpolanco25
Translation: Wow bro, I can’t believe it…a tremendous player but much better, and excellent human being. Miss you bro!
Pittsburgh Pirates Fan Fun
Don’t forget that the Pirates are doing all kinds of fun stuff on social media to help bridge the gap until spring training. They feature a new fan of the week each Friday on their Facebook page, they’re also doing a #BucsFanFriday contest on twitter (and Snapchat). They throw in #BucsTrivia contests randomly throughout the week on Twitter as well. Pay attention and some autographed Buccos swag could be yours!
With Valentine’s Day drawing near, the Pirates are once again rolling out special Pirate Parrot Valentine’s Day deliveries:
Looking for that perfect Valentine's Day gift?
The Parrot's got your back ➡️ https://t.co/VEyRnBkIdP pic.twitter.com/2IL9UutyY5
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) January 28, 2017
That’s all this week for the Pittsburgh Pirates Social Media Round-up. Have a great week and #LetsGoBucs
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