Pirates Hire Familiar Face as Third Base Coach

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates found their new third base coach for next season, bringing back a name that fans may remember.

Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Pirates hired Tony Beasley as their third base coach for 2026.

Beasley's History with Pirates

Beasley joined the Pirates in September 1991 in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles and played in their minor league system throughout the rest of the decade

He his coaching career with the Pirates in 1999 in the minor leagues and was a manager in the minors for five seasons, 2001-05.

Beasley served as the hitting coach with the Gulf Coast League (GCL) in 1999 and then in the same position with Class-A Lynchburg in 2000.

His first managerial job came with the Williamsport Crosscutters in the New York-Penn League, where he led them to a 46-26 record in 2001, finishing as co-champions.

Baseball America named Beasley as their Low-A Manager of the Year in back-to-back seasons in 2002 and 2003 with the Hickory Crawdads, winning the South Atlantic League Championship in 2002.

Beasley lead Double-A Altoona to the Eastern League Championship Series in 2004, earning Baseball America Double-A Manager of the Year honors.

He would come back to the Pirates after a short stint with the Washington Nationals, taking over as the minor league infield coordinator in 2007. His work with Neil Walker was crucial, as he made his transition from catcher to the infield.

Walker would have a successful career with the Pirates, playing seven seasons at the MLB level from 2009-15, serving as the starting second baseman from 2011-15, earning National League Silver Slugger Award honors in 2014.

Beasley took over as third base coach in 2008 under manager John Russell, but lost his job after the Pirates fired Russell following the 2010 season.