Derek Shelton

Derek Lee Shelton (born July 30, 1970) is an American baseball coach and former catcher. He is the current manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). After his playing career in the New York Yankees organization ended in 1993, he coached and managed within the Yankees minor league system between 1997 and 2002. He then served as a minor league hitting coordinator for the Cleveland Indians starting in 2003.

Shelton was the hitting coach for the Cleveland Indians from 2005 until 2009, and the Tampa Bay Rays from 2010 until 2016. Shelton then worked as the quality control coach for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2017. He was the bench coach for the Minnesota Twins from 2018 through 2019.

Amateur and collegiate career
Shelton's father Ron coached baseball and freshman basketball while serving as an associate principal at Warren Township High School after his own professional playing career within the Baltimore Orioles organization ended. Derek Shelton received his first set of catcher's equipment at the age of three, and later graduated from Warren, where he played for his father's baseball teams. Shelton's mother Kathy was also a teacher. His brother is Craig.

After graduating from high school, Shelton attended Southern Illinois University where he played college baseball for the Salukis. In his sophomore year (1990), the Salukis won 49 games and the Missouri Valley Conference championship, and played in the NCAA Tournament. Shelton led the Missouri Valley Conference in 1991, his junior year, by throwing out 43% of opposing baserunners attempting to steal. While at SIU, Shelton earned a degree in criminal justice and minored in political science.

Playing career
Shelton was a minor league catcher in the New York Yankees organization in 1992 and 1993, advancing from the Short-Season A Oneonta Yankees to the Single-A Greensboro Hornets before an elbow surgery ended his playing career. Shelton played 46 games in his minor league career, and finished with a .341 batting average, one home run, and 19 runs batted in.

Coaching career
Shelton became a minor league coach in 1997, and managed Yankee minor league teams for three seasons, from 2000 through 2002. His teams achieved a .624 winning percentage, and he won the New York–Penn League championship in 2002 with the Staten Island Yankees.

Major league coaching career
Shelton was the minor league hitting coordinator for the Cleveland Indians organization from 2003, until he replaced major league hitting coach Eddie Murray on an interim basis in the midst of the 2005 season. Shelton became the Tampa Bay Rays' hitting coach after the 2009 season. The Rays fired him in September 2016. On December 12, 2016, the Toronto Blue Jays hired him as a quality control coach for the 2017 season. On November 6, 2017, the Minnesota Twins hired Shelton as bench coach for the 2018 season.

On November 27, 2019, Shelton was named the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Shelton became the 41st manager in club history. On April 22, 2023, the Pirates announced that Shelton's contract had been extended.

Personal life
Shelton and his wife, Alison, have three children: Jackson, Kristina, and Gianna. They live in Treasure Island, Florida.