Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates Social Media Round-up: PLAY BALL!

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Alan Draper
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Sports Editor
6 min read

The Pittsburgh Pirates gear up to play 9 – Grapefruit League play begins today – catch up on the music, food and fun that make Spring Training the best time

Hey Pittsburgh Pirates fans – are you ready for some baseball?!

Gregory Polanco is:

Pitcher Steven Brault is pretty excited, too.

Spring Training Games Start TODAY

The Bucs are playing split squads today:

Players bound for Charlotte Sports Park boarded the bus just before 10 a.m. this morning.

I Got The Music in Me

The Pirates added music to Spring Training workouts this season. According to 93.7 The Fan personality and future host of the Pirates pre-and-post game shows Chris Mack, the team did so after seeing research that concluded that workouts are more effective when music is present. He says that the soundtrack was provided by Clint Hurdle’s iPod, with some additional tunes added in from outside sources. It’s an eclectic mix to be sure, and has provided some fun outtakes at Pirate City:

This is somewhat music-related and the only place where it kinda fits in – but there was no way I could let this glorious TBT Francisco Cervelli posted go without mention. His rookie initiation as the biker from The Village People…

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ4GZcsjiMf/?taken-by=fran_cervelli

Food Fuels the Soul

The team held a Chopped-like competition after the final full workout day of Spring Training at LECOM Park. They pitted four teams against each other for the Pirates Chopped belt (?) and all the fame and glory.

Of course the social savvy Trevor Williams and Tyler Glasnow got in a quick riff on a popular Internet meme…

Jameson Taillon’s team didn’t win, but he was okay with that – the judge’s seemed to like what they prepared all the same…

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ6BK01jaVB/?taken-by=j_taillon19

But in the end, it wasn’t surprising that the team that included Francisco Cervelli, who seems to know his way around a kitchen, took home top honors.

The Fun of Spring Training

The real goal of Spring Training is to get players ready for the 162-game season. But it’s a special time when the team comes together, bonds with new members and gets to have a little fun without too much pressure…

You know how sometimes, when a game goes deep into extras and the bullpen is exhausted, the manager will have an infielder pitch? My guess is Clint Hurdle and Ray Searage aren’t gonna be handing that ball to Josh Harrison after they see the way he handles a wiffle ball:

Baseball players seem to play it fairly cool most of the time – never letting you see them get rattled or rocked. Still, it’s nice to know that they are sometimes just as blown away by meeting a hero as us “regular folks.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ6AAuLldvv/?taken-by=davidfreese

 All About the Kids

Andrew McCutchen has teamed up with Chevrolet to help bring baseball to support Youth Baseball initiatives. Chevy has worked with MLB since 2006 to support baseball and softball at the youth level. They will also once again be a lead sponsor of the MLB PLAY BALL initiative. Here’s a quote from Cutch in the Chevy press release:

“I have so many great memories playing little league ball – from hitting my first homerun to just being together with my friends – experiences that taught me to love the game,” said McCutchen, the 2013 National League MVP. “I am thankful that I was able to achieve my dream and am excited to support Chevy Youth Baseball so that more of the dedicated and talented youth around the country have the same support and opportunity to make it to the big leagues.”

https://twitter.com/chevrolet/status/834419811329384449

Starling Marte is a pretty proud Papa – saying that “There is nothing in this world that makes me happier than my three kids” and posting this adorbs pic on Insta!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ34Q8bFEws/?taken-by=marte06

While some of the guys spend their nights at the fun restaurants in Bradenton, Sarasota and Tampa, Felipe Rivero took in entertainment of another sort…I wonder if he won all of those tickets playing skee-ball…

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ4AhGxDzFi/?taken-by=felipe_43rivero

On Monday, Pirates players, coaches, alums and front office staff took part in a Miracle League Fantasy Camp in Manasota, a program that “removes the barriers that keep children with mental and physical disabilities off the baseball field and lets them experience the joy of America’s favorite pastime,” according to their website. It’s a great program and another way baseball gives back.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQwFlz_gl-d/?taken-by=skoobuh

In the News

Andrew McCutchen issued a letter to Pittsburgh via The Players’ Tribune on the first day of Spring Training. It was a raw and honest look inside his head as the latest turn in his career, the move from his beloved position in centerfield, unfolded.

EXTRA EXTRA! Anyone who follows The Pirates or their players on social media knows that pitcher Trevor Williams is a prolific contributor to social media. I have confirmed with his social media manager that he has resolved to five up social media for Lent. Soak up all the @MeLlamoTrevor you can now, folks, he’ll be off the grid From March 1 until Easter…

Infield Chatter – If you haven’t heard about this through the social feeds of your favorite Pirates players, you will soon. It’s a new app developed by the MLB Players’ Association that helps connect players, fans and those involved in baseball. The interface through a desktop is still a little shaky, but the mobile app has a lot of potential and is definitely getting major player traffic (the elusive Chris Stewart has an account even). We’re testing it out ourselves and I hope to add posts from the app to the SM Round-up soon. I’m talking to the app’s creators next week – so stay tuned for an article with loads more info on this cool social tool next week!

That’s all this week for the Pittsburgh Pirates Social Media Round-up. The Pirates are playing split squad games today – they face the Orioles at LECOM Park and also take on the Rays at Charlotte Sports Park, bith games begin at 1:05 p.m. Have a great week and #LetsGoBucs

Thanks for checking us out here at Pirates Breakdown. Make sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for the best Pirates coverage all year long!

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Alan Draper

Alan is a vastly experienced sports and gambling writer who is the Chief Editor of The Sports Daily.
View All Posts By Alan Draper

Alan Draper

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Alan is a vastly experienced sports and gambling writer who is the Chief Editor of The Sports Daily.
View All Posts By Alan Draper
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