Money ball: Pirates fans react to outfielder Bryan Reynolds' $106M contract
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It’s still early in the season, but things are really looking up for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The team signed third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to a long-term contract last season. They brought back franchise icon Andrew McCutchen in the offseason. They were in first place entering Tuesday night’s games. They also signed manager Derek Shelton to a contract extension.
For some, though, it still wasn’t enough.
Then Tuesday came — and with it a franchise-record $106.75 million, eight-year contract spent on star outfielder Bryan Reynolds, one of the cornerstones of the team.
Massoud Hossaini | Tribune-Review
The contract is “well-deserved,” said Jacob Blondin who came to Pittsburgh from Massachusetts to see Tuesday night’s Pirates game against the Los Angeles Dodgers with his girlfriend, Lauren Rice.
“Bryan Reynolds is a great player and has been playing well for years,” Blondin said. “His signing shows a commitment by ownership to the fans. The team has been playing great. Let’s hope they can keep this winning streak going.”
Pirates legend Steve Blass happened to be on Pittsburgh’s North Shore on Tuesday afternoon, and offered his opinion on Reynolds’ signing: Bryan Reynolds is baseball.
“I am so happy for the Pirates, and so happy for this city,” Blass said. “I love the way he plays. This is wonderful. What more could we ask for? Bryan Reynolds will be a Pirate for a long, long time. The sun is shining and there’s a baseball game today.”
Blass retired in 2019 after 60 years with the Pirates as a player and broadcaster. The pitching hero of the 1971 World Series has spent time with the team as a special instructor at spring training, and has what he calls an ambassadorial role for the organization.
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop | Tribune-Review
As Blass was leaving, a fan asked for his autograph on a T-shirt with a Blass image for an auction item for a charity event for a friend battling cancer. Ron Leckey of McCandless said it was the last shirt with the Blass design left in a store by the park. Pirates gear is in demand with the team playing so well to start the season. It was a coincidence Leckey ran into Blass to get the signature, which Leckey said will make the auction item that more valuable.
“This is so wonderful for this city,” Leckey said of the Reynolds’ signing. “Bryan Reynolds is the real deal. The city should embrace this moment.”
Not everyone is, however.
“Bryan Reynolds is a real good player, but I don’t think he’s worth that amount of money,” said Laurie Auld, of Sharon, Pa. and a former Natrona resident, who was having a drink with her son on Federal Street. “That is a lot of money.”
Her son, Rory Clark, of Oakland, disagreed with his mother, who was attending her first Pirates game at PNC Park, when it came to Reynolds’ contract. Clark said Reynolds is the one who got the team going this season with his hot start at the plate. He said that the length of contract — eight years — is important. If it was for four years or less, Clark said it wouldn’t have been such a great deal.
“This team is on fire,” Clark said. “(Pirates owner) Bob Nutting is building something here.”
Justin Richardson, of Castle Shannon was wearing a Roberto Clemente jersey. He and his wife, Katie, said buying a jersey of a Hall of Famer is safe, because the Pirates in recent decades have traded away players whose jersey you would want to wear. But Richardson said it’s good now to buy a Reynolds jersey.
“This is fantastic,” he said. “It shows that ownership is looking toward the future. They are spending the money to put a good product on the field, and this signing is giving a jolt of energy to this team.”
Reynolds’ contract brings a stability to the team, said Roshia Furnace, of Scott, who who was wearing a Dodgers jersey because he was born in Los Angeles. He said the Pirates now have the centerpieces in place with Reynolds, Hayes and McCutchen’s leadership.
“We’ve got a foundation,” Furnace said. “It is good to see them winning.”
It is, but it’s early, said Kim Trimble of Brighton Township, Beaver County, who was born in Los Angeles. She said she’s cautious and will wait until the All-Star break to get on the bandwagon. She noted Reynolds’ contract isn’t that much compared to what other teams pay.
Her husband, Bob Trimble Jr. said he was pleasantly surprised Nutting spent that amount of money. He has been going to Pirates games since their Forbes Field days and always tried to sit in right field to watch Clemente. His father, Bob Sr., and uncle Paul instilled the love of game in him .
“I haven’t felt this good about Pirates baseball in a long, long time,” Trimble said. “My dad and my uncle would love how well the Pirates are doing, and I am loving this too. I am all in.”
Source: TribLIVE
