Michael McKenry to return to the Pirates as TV analyst

A former Pittsburgh Pirates’ catcher is returning to the franchise to work as a TV analyst for AT&T Sports in 2018

At the end of last season, ex-Pirate relief pitcher Kent Tekulve retired as the Pirates’ pre/post-game analyst for AT&T Sports. On Friday, we found out who Teke’s replacement will be.

AT&T Sports and the Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Friday that ex-Pirate catcher Michael McKenry will be the team’s new pre/post-game analyst starting in 2018. This marks McKenry’s return to the Steel City after he spent the 2011, 2012, and 2013 seasons as the Pirates’ starting or backup catcher.

“I always felt like I left a huge part of my heart there,” McKenry told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review when asked about taking the job with AT&T Sports.

For those who remember the 2011 season was a disaster at catcher for the Pirates. Due to injuries, the team needed eight catchers to get through the 2011 season. On June 13 of that season the Pirates acquired McKenry from the Rockies for cash considerations.

When the Pirates acquired Michael McKenry the team’s catching tandem was Dusty Brown, who to this day remains the worst defensive catcher I have ever seen, and now Pirate minor league instructor Wyatt Torregas.

When he was a Pirate, Michael McKenry, or ‘The Fort’ as many fans called him, was one of the team’s most popular players. His Pirate career ended prematurely in 2013 when knee surgery ended his season in late July. A combination of the emergence of Tony Sanchez, the Pirates trading for Chris Stewart in December of 2013, and Russell Martin being the team’s starting catcher led to the Pirates designating McKenry for assignment that off-season.

Next: PECOTA projections for the 2018 Pirates

What Michael McKenry’s playing career in Pittsburgh is probably best remembered for is him catching every pitch of every inning of the Pirates 19 inning loss against the Atlanta Braves in July of 2011. ‘The Jerry Meals Game,’ as it came to be known, ended when Atlanta baserunner Julio Lugo was called safe at home in the bottom of the 19th inning despite McKenry clearly tagging him before he touched the plate. This caused the game to end on a walk-off fielder’s choice by Braves’ reliever Scott Proctor.