Cole Tucker's outfield glove story is as good as gold — or platinum, depending on the day - TribLIVE

solokol.blogspot.com

By Cole Tucker’s count, he’s only 34 days into his career as a center fielder but that hasn’t stopped him from wearing a Platinum Glove one day or a Gold Glove the next.

When the Pittsburgh Pirates approached the shortstop about playing the outfield for the first time, there was one problem: Tucker only had infielder’s mitts. Hundreds of them, actually.

But to pull double duty, he needs one of each.

“Every day I bring my infield glove and my outfield glove — well, it’s not really my outfield glove,” Tucker said, with a chuckle, “but I bring them down into the dugout for games, just in case.”

That required further explanation. Tucker revealed that he borrowed gloves from Pirates manager Derek Shelton and closer Keone Kela, hand-me-downs that were gifts from former teammates who just so happened to rank among the game’s best defensive center fielders — Minnesota’s Bryon Buxton and former Pirate Starling Marte — now with Arizona.

“So, Shelty has a glove that Byron Buxton gave him last year. It says ‘Shooter’ on it. That’s what everyone calls Shelty,” Tucker said of Buxton’s 2017 honor as the AL’s best defensive player. “It has the Rawlings Platinum Glove labels — which I haven’t earned — but it’s the only Rawlings glove that we had that was broken in around here when I was told I was going to be playing some outfield, so I’ve been using that.

“When we played the Twins, I was like, ‘Yo, Bux, I got your glove!’ He said, ‘I saw that. I love it.’ So, it’s cool to have his blessing to use his platinum glove. …

“And Kela gave me one of Marte’s gold gloves, which has the gold labels on it, which I also haven’t earned. But those are the only Rawlings pieces of leather around here that were broken in. I ordered some and they still aren’t here. It’s kind of a struggle. I’ll have some of my own eventually that I’ll use next year but I’m running with those right now.”

Shelton just shrugged and laughed when told of Tucker’s comments, sharing that it isn’t the first time he’s let one of his players borrow a glove. When coaching with the Toronto Blue Jays, Shelton had a personalized glove made for his son, Jackson, that he lent to Russell Martin for a handful of games when the catcher played third base.

“That’s as close as I’ll ever get to being on the big league field,” Shelton said of Tucker wearing his ‘Shooter’ glove. “He just needed a glove. I got a bad trade in that bag, because I got a glove back from him that’s not as good. My glove’s way better.”

The Pirates believe it’s only a matter of time before Tucker’s glove is as good as gold. It’s early in his development but he’s already shown plenty of promise in the outfield, from his sliding-on-his-knees catch at Cleveland to his just-miss on an attempt to rob Nicholas Castellanos of a home run at PNC Park.

“It’s fun to play next to Cole,” Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds said. “He’s got good energy out there.”

Tucker is becoming more aggressive and relying upon his athleticism and speed in center. He was almost apologetic after calling off Reynolds while chasing down a fly ball in left-center on Friday, but quickly realized that it’s the center fielder’s job to make such split-second decisions. But Tucker hasn’t stopped fielding grounders on his days off, working at shortstop and second base to stay sharp.

“I mean, on paper I’m an outfielder. That’s all I’ve played this year,” Tucker said. “But, in my heart, I still feel like I’m an infielder. I’ve done it for so long, I don’t ever think I’ll lose that side of me. I’m working to make sure that I don’t lose those skills, just in case my number is called.”

And Tucker has way more mitts from infielders, as he keeps a collection at his parents’ home in Phoenix that includes an autographed Ozzie Smith Rawlings Pro-12TC and an orange-and-white Adam Jones model that is “super showy and flashy-looking.”

“I’m a glove guy. I love gloves,” Tucker said. “Me and my dad have been collecting gloves forever. We have dozens, probably 100 baseball gloves back at my parents’ house back home. It’s weird, I have 50 million infield gloves and now I have two outfield gloves.”

That’s a collection to which Tucker hopes to add platinum and gold of his own, the kind he’s earned.

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at kgorman@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Pirates/MLB | Sports

Search

Cole Tucker's outfield glove story is as good as gold — or platinum, depending on the day - TribLIVE

0 Response to "Cole Tucker's outfield glove story is as good as gold — or platinum, depending on the day - TribLIVE"

Post a Comment