Vic Black ‘Slightly Heartbroken’ When Pirates Traded Him for Marlon Byrd

The acquisition of Marlon Byrd last season was the most memorable trade deadline move in the Neal Huntington era.  Byrd put up big numbers all season, even shadowing those of St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Carlos Beltran.  The trade sent Vic Black to the Mets and he might have pitched himself into a big time job in 2014.  The trade didn’t propel the Bucs to their ultimate goal, but it’s hard to imagine what their stretch run might have been like without the man that refused to button those top buttons.

Ben Berkon of TheBeanball caught up with Black and asked several great questions in this interview.  [Link]  We especially liked this response from Black when asked about being traded.

"Ben, honestly I was slightly heart broken. [I]n [a] sense, I felt as though I had been put up for adoption."

The Pirates thought highly of Byrd, but they didn’t fall in love with him.  The 36-year old parlayed his unlikely solid season into a two-year deal worth a reported $16 million from the Philadelphia Phillies.  The Philth have the cash to make a deal like that, the Buccos don’t.  Or won’t.

Meanwhile Black appears to be the likely candidate to become the Mets closer despite pitching just 13 innings for the New York Mets.  The flamethrower posted a 3.46 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 3.0 K/BB while pumping the heater on average at 95.5 miles per hour.

Black mentioned in the interview that Terry Collins showed faith in him and that was something the Pirates “weren’t going to do.”

Be sure to check out the interview, Black gives some great insight.