New Pirates manager Don Kelly held in high esteem by former Point Park coaches

Leadership, commitment, dedication, concern for fellow teammates — those were among the several dozen categories Mark Jackson used to annually evaluate his baseball players at Point Park.

It was a straightforward method for assessing the character of his team.

In 1999, Jackson returned a veteran squad of players from a Pioneers club that had just competed in the NAIA College World Series.

Yet ahead of the ’99 campaign, despite having no shortage of leaders and veterans, Jackson was floored upon seeing the results of a true freshman from Mt. Lebanon, Don Kelly.

“Donnie had the highest score of anyone on the team,” Jackson told TribLive. “It was just unheard of for a freshman to score that high because freshmen have to go through an adjustment period. Donnie comes in as a freshman and immediately not only was accepted but was probably the most respected player on the team because of his character. I knew he was special then, and it just played out that way the three years he was there.”

On Thursday, the 45-year-old Kelly was named manager of the Pirates. He replaces Derek Shelton, who was fired after the club began the season with a 12-26 record.

Kelly, who was coached by Jackson for three seasons (1999-2001) at Point Park before being drafted by the Detroit Tigers, had served as bench coach for the Pirates since 2019.

A managerial candidate for several MLB teams over the past few seasons, Kelly steps into a full-time manager’s role for the first time.

Periodically, Jackson keeps in touch with his former standout shortstop, an NAIA All-American who batted .413 in a Pioneers uniform and later went on to enjoy a nine-year MLB career, appearing in 584 games.

From knowing Kelly as a teenager, Jackson believes Kelly possesses several key qualities that will endear him to the players and fellow coaches he’s now overseeing in Pittsburgh from the manager’s chair.

“It’s a combination of passion and compassion,” said Jackson, who coached Point Park from 1984-90 and 1998-2002, with five College World Series appearances. “He genuinely cares about other people and is very sincere. When you speak with him, he really zooms in on you and pays attention to you. He has one of those qualities that certain people have when you feel like you’re the most important person in the world when he talks to you. It’s very unique in that way. I’ve come across very few people like him in my life.”

Al Liberi also knew Kelly as a kid from his days serving as Mt. Lebanon’s hitting coach.

When Kelly was a sophomore, Liberi recalled bringing him aside to level with him about his on-field abilities.

“‘You know, you are better than all these other guys,’” Liberi recounted. “(Kelly) was real humble. He just said, ‘Coach, I work hard every day.’”

Liberi ultimately followed Kelly to Point Park to serve as hitting coach with the Pioneers.

For Liberi, the young man he helped develop in high school and collegiately should be plenty prepared to step into this role with the Pirates.

“He loves baseball,” Liberi said. “He has a passion for this game. I think he respects the game of baseball. I think he’s the right man for the job, he’s a leader of men and he’ll get his point across. His baseball IQ’s off the (charts).”

Joe Oliphant played with Kelly at Point Park, and the two were roommates.

Their friendship, which spans 25 years, has since transformed into family, with Oliphant naming Kelly godfather of his son.

Both Kelly’s and Oliphant’s lives have changed significantly since their Point Park days.

Oliphant is still local, working in education, while Kelly’s playing days included a brief stop with the Pirates (2007) before his coaching career began in 2019 with the Houston Astros.

As Oliphant has watched Kelly rise through the minor leagues, majors, into the coaching ranks and now as manager of the Pirates, not much has changed about the character of his old college roommate.

“I think the word selfless comes to mind — making others better,” Oliphant said. “He’s a truly professional dude who cares about the sport, cares about making people better and his teammates better. I’m sure that same mantra connects to when he was in the majors. There’s no one to talk bad about him.”

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington made it a point Thursday not to include the word “interim” ahead of Kelly’s title of manager.

He also declined to look further than the rest of 2025, as it pertains to Kelly’s long-term future with the club.

Cherington made several observations congruent with those who have known him since high school and college.

“He’s got a teacher’s heart,” Cherington said. “He wakes up thinking about how to help someone else. That does not mean that it’s going to miraculously turn into massively different results right away. That’s not how the game works. We know that, right? Over time, I believe that his personality and approach and style can have a positive effect on our players.”

The task facing Kelly is daunting given the Pirates’ place in the standings. Yet Kelly might be the right presence to instill a sense of confidence and calm.

“One of the best people I’ve ever been associated with,” Jackson said. “Doesn’t surprise me at all that he’s going to be the manager for the Pirates because of the qualities he has. He’s just a real caring person, sincere, genuine — just really a special person. He left his impressions on me as I’m sure he has with everyone he’s come in contact with.”