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On the surface, it seems fast. The reality is that Griffin checked every box \u2014 and checked every box quickly \u2014 while sprinting through the Pirates’ system. The final steps came over the last week when he hit .438 in a handful of games for Triple-A Indianapolis.<\/p>\n
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Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly felt like Griffin was \u201cpressing\u201d near the end of spring training, when Griffin smashed three homers but also hit just .171. The club made Griffin one of the last cuts before the opening day roster was set. Yet rather than sulk, he headed to Triple-A, made a couple of adjustments, and saw immediate results.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just went right down and hit his stride and was able to reset in a couple of days,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cWhich again, for anybody, is really impressive, especially for a 19-year-old kid whose hopes and dreams were to make the big leagues.\u201d<\/p>\n
That doesn’t make Griffin unlike the millions of kids who pick up a bat when they’re in elementary school. It’s everything that has come after it, however, that has set Griffin apart. He raced through the lower levels of the minors last year, hitting 21 homers, driving in 94 runs, and stealing 65 bases while showcasing the range to play one of the game’s most demanding defensive positions.<\/p>\n
Yet it’s not just the tangible on-field things that won the organization over. Griffin has long carried himself with the maturity of someone far older. He married his high school sweetheart, Dendy, over the winter. And she was the first one he told after Indianapolis manager Eric Patterson called Griffin to his hotel room in Columbus early Thursday to tell him he was heading to The Show.<\/p>\n
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The next 24 hours were a blur. From the short drive from Columbus to Pittsburgh to the scramble for the Mississippi native’s family to make it to the ballpark that’s tucked hard against the Allegheny River in time for Friday’s first pitch.<\/p>\n
Finally, just after noon, Griffin was able to relax. He trotted out to shortstop and took grounders, his frame and arm making him look very much the part of the role he’s been preparing for since he was 5.<\/p>\n
Griffin’s skillset has drawn comparisons to the likes of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., heady territory for someone less than two years removed from his high school graduation. Still, he’s not getting ahead of himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday is the first day of carving out a legacy that I want to build,\u201d he said. “And I\u2019m ready to do that and try to be right up there with those top guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Griffin is the latest in a string of high-profile arrivals in Pittsburgh, from reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes to rookie right-hander Bubba Chandler to catcher Henry Davis.<\/p>\n
The future that’s been talked about since general manager Ben Cherington was hired in late 2019 is finally arriving. And perhaps it’s telling of how far the club has come that Griffin is joining a roster that has undergone a significant upgrade in recent months with the additions of All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe, All-Star first baseman\/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn and veteran designated hitter Marcell Ozuna.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis team is loaded,\u201d Griffin said. \u201cI get to come in here and just be a piece of this puzzle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps a very big piece. For a very long time. The Pirates and Griffin have engaged in talks about a contract extension that would lock him up for most of the next decade.<\/p>\n
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Griffin demurred when asked about it on Friday, though he made his intentions very clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll I\u2019m going to say is, I want to be a Pirate for a long time,\u201d he said. “This is a special place and I\u2019m thankful to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps most importantly because it means he can shed the \u201ctop prospect\u201d label and stop focusing so much on his individual development and instead turn his attention to helping the Pirates make a playoff push for the first time since the mid-2010s.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow it\u2019s time to take all the skills that I\u2019ve learned,\u201d he said, “all the adjustments I\u2019ve made. It\u2019s time to go put them on the field and go win some games.\u201d<\/p>\n
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AP MLB: https:\/\/apnews.com\/mlb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh Pirates’ Konnor Griffin meets with reporters before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates’ home-opener…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583379,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,111173,24617,66395,115302,285692,44459,1829,10542,591,146000,146002,5147,5132,285691,145996,145997,145998,285693,285694,285695,28674,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-583378","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-ben-cherington","11":"tag-brandon-lowe","12":"tag-bubba-chandler","13":"tag-don-kelly","14":"tag-eric-patterson","15":"tag-henry-davis","16":"tag-juan-soto","17":"tag-marcell-ozuna","18":"tag-mlb","19":"tag-package-100024-ap-online","20":"tag-package-100502-member-choice-sports-option","21":"tag-paul-skenes","22":"tag-pittsburgh","23":"tag-pittsburgh-pirates-mlb-konnor-griffin","24":"tag-product-30599-ap-sports-news-s-wire-only","25":"tag-product-31999-ap-online-baseball-news","26":"tag-product-32562-ap-online-other-sports-news","27":"tag-product-40779-ap-delaware-maryland-sports-only","28":"tag-product-40794-ap-mississippi-sports-only","29":"tag-product-40809-ap-pennsylvania-sports-only","30":"tag-ryan-ohearn","31":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}