Pirates award manager contract extension after surprising start

At 14-7 entering play on Saturday, the Pittsburgh Pirates are off to their best start since the 1992 season. It has been enough to earn manager Derek Shelton a contract extension.

While the Pirates did not announce specific terms on Shelton's new deal, his contract was set to expire after the 2023 season.

This is Shelton's fourth year in the Pirates' dugout and the first real sign of success he has seen during that time. The Pirates had lost 100 games in each of the previous two seasons and were playing at a 100-loss pace during the shortened 2020 season. Overall, Shelton's record was an even 142-242 at the time of the extension.

"I really believe that he's the right person for the job," general manager Ben Cherington told the Pittsburgh media before Saturday's game. "He's worked tirelessly for over three years now to help put us in a stronger position to win."

While Shelton's body of work might not seem like anything special or anything that warrants a contract extension, you also have to understand the circumstances here. Shelton has not really had a chance to actually "manage" a competitive team. The roster he has been working with during his first three full seasons has lacked talent from top-to-bottom -- developing individual players had taken initial priority over actually winning baseball games. 

The Pirates have used a surprising start from their pitching rotation, some under-the-radar offseason additions and some emerging young talent to jump out as one of the biggest surprises in the league.