Konnor Griffin’s path to Pirates has a full-circle Bill Mazeroski tie

The Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t just draft a gifted teenager when they selected Konnor Griffin ninth overall in the 2024 MLB Draft. They reached across generations.

Griffin’s path into professional baseball carries a connection that feels almost too perfect for a sport built on nostalgia — he was signed by scout Darren Mazeroski, the son of the late Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski.

Just days after the Pirates mourned the passing of one of the most iconic figures in franchise history, Griffin delivered a reminder of why baseball’s timelines rarely move in straight lines. Sometimes, they circle back.

Bill Mazeroski will forever belong to October 13, 1960 — the swing that ended Game 7 of the World Series and sent Forbes Field into chaos. The walk-off home run against the New York Yankees won a championship and defined an era of Pirates baseball and cemented Mazeroski as part of the city’s identity.

More than six decades later, his family helped usher in what could be the franchise’s next cornerstone. And if Tuesday’s Grapefruit League performance against the Boston Red Sox was any indication, Griffin is not intimidated by history.

Facing Ranger Suárez — a $130 million left-hander with postseason pedigree — Griffin punished a hanging curveball in the second inning, launching a 104.8-mph, two-run homer completely out of JetBlue Park.

Two innings later, he somehow topped it. Down 0-2 against right-hander Seth Martinez, Griffin turned on a sweeper and demolished it with a 111.2-mph exit velocity, the hardest ball he’s hit this spring.

Pirates history comes full circle with Konnor Griffin-Bill Mazeroski connection

Despite playing only 122 games last season — just 21 above Class-A — the 19-year-old already carries himself like someone who understands exactly where he is and what the moment demands. Veterans who typically roll their eyes at prospect hype instead talk about his maturity. Coaches point to instincts you can’t teach.

The numbers back it up. A .333 batting average, .941 OPS and 65 stolen bases in 78 attempts in 2025 show extraordinary production paired with extraordinary tools. And even so, Griffin doesn’t arrive with entitlement. He arrives with curiosity.

He listens. He works. He blends into clubhouses filled with players twice his age without trying to dominate them. That matters in Pittsburgh — a city that has always valued humility as much as talent — and it makes the Mazeroski connection feel even more fitting.

Bill Mazeroski represented a different era of baseball, one built on defense, grit and loyalty to a single uniform. He wasn’t flashy. He didn’t chase headlines. He simply showed up every day and did the work. Those who have spent time around Griffin describe something familiar — respectful, even-keeled, focused.

The similarities are not about style of play — Griffin’s electric speed and explosive power belong to modern baseball — but about presence and about understanding the responsibility that comes with wearing a Pirates jersey.

Mazeroski’s legacy will always live in bronze statues and black-and-gold memories. Yet baseball rarely gives fans the opportunity to watch history hand the baton forward in real time.

Whether Griffin breaks camp with Pittsburgh or begins the season refining his game at Triple-A Indianapolis almost feels secondary, because the larger story is already unfolding.

A Hall of Famer’s family helped bring him here. A franchise legend passed just as a new chapter began. And somewhere between the echoes of Forbes Field and the crack of a bat in Fort Myers, the Pirates may have discovered their next moment waiting to happen.