Baseball Isn’t Boring
Presser: Konnor Griffin Gets Ready To Make His MLB Debut With The Pirates
03 Apr 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What has Konnor Griffin's journey to the MLB been like?
KG, what has the past 24 hours been like for you in finally getting a moment to achieve your dream?
It's been unbelievable. You know, the drive from Columbus to here, just two hours of just kind of reflecting on the whole journey so far. You know, I was sitting here about a year and a half ago, two years after I got drafted, and was talking about how cool it would be to play on this field and how now I get to do it. So I'm super excited.
How did you find out that you were coming up to the major leagues?
Yeah, manager in Indianapolis, Eric Patterson, he called me to his hotel room about 8.30 in the morning and said, hey, we're going to send you up to Pittsburgh. Go kill it. I know you're ready. Just go keep being you. So it was a special moment. Connor, do you have any expectations that it might be quick, that you wouldn't be down there long? I mean, I try not to look too far ahead.
Like, I was just really trying to be present and continue to develop and be as prepared as I could be for this moment.
Are you able to wrap your mind around how fast everything went? I mean, two years ago on this day, you were in high school, and now you're playing shortstop in the major leagues. Are you able to kind of take all of that in?
Yeah, it's been an amazing journey, and I feel like I've grown so much as a player and as a person. I've just really been able to take it all in, and I'm glad I'm here today. I feel super ready for this moment.
There's been a lot of talk for a lot of time about the future being right around here with Skeens and Bubba and yourself. Now that you guys are all here, can you speak to the importance of paying off all that investment of hope with results?
Yeah, I mean... This team is loaded. I get to come in here and just be a piece of this puzzle. There's a lot of guys that are on this roster that are doing great things already for our team, and I'm just thankful to kind of join the group and try to contribute myself. These guys are warriors, and they're ready to win games, and I'm ready to do the same thing.
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Chapter 2: How did Konnor Griffin find out about his promotion to the majors?
How do you personally manage that internally so that it doesn't weigh too much on you?
Yeah, just be me. Kind of go out there and just try to win every pitch. That's my goal. It's the same game that I was playing in the minor league, same game here today. I'm just going to be competing, playing as hard as I can. That hasn't changed over the past two years, and it never will. So as long as I can keep that same mentality, my skills will take over.
I'm sure it's hard to put into words what the emotions are, but if you were to describe your emotions, what would you say? Are you nervous, excited? What are you feeling?
Just a little bit of everything. You know, nervous, excited. You know, this is something I've dreamed of for a long time, and it's finally happening. And, you know, just super emotional with all my family that's been right by my side this whole journey.
And, you know, I'm just absolutely pumped to be here on, you know, opening weekend, get to play in front of the Pirates fan base for the first time. I'm super excited for that.
Connor, after spring, you talked about getting back to being you, going to Indianapolis. Was there a conversation, a moment, an anything?
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Chapter 3: What expectations does Konnor Griffin have for his MLB debut?
I don't know. What enabled you to get back to being you?
Just being able to go have fun. I think just getting back to that was important. Not worrying about all this going on in spring training, just being able to go play games with my team in Indianapolis was really good for me. But yeah, just getting back to doing what I do, playing super hard, just having a lot of fun on the baseball field.
You have a lot of relationships with the guys in that clubhouse already. Who was the first one to reach out after you were promoted?
I mean, a lot of them reached out. I know Henry Davis, Jake Mangum, Nick York, those guys, Brandon Lau, they were all sending me texts around the same time. So they were sending me texts, and that's just another part of it. I feel so comfortable around these guys already just from our time in spring, and I feel like it's going to be an easy transition.
You've got a lot of guys in that room that have been in this position kind of making their reviews with a lot of expectations. Do you get any advice from them on sort of how to navigate this early time in the majors?
Yeah, just a lot of them kind of say that there's a lot that goes on on the debut day and Your main goal is to go do your job and help win a game. Don't let the distractions be too much for you. Handle it like a pro, but at the end of the day, the goal is to go win a game today, and that's the focus.
As you've gotten this chair, Connor, you've mentioned this was your childhood dream since you were five years old. What was it like to not only get that news, but to be able to share it with the loved ones in your life?
I mean, it's a call that I'll always remember. You know, I got to, you know, at the hotel, go back to my wife and tell her, and we got to have a special moment just celebrating with her and then was able to call my parents. And, you know, everybody was scrambling to try to figure out how to get here as quick as they can just to be able to celebrate together. So definitely a special moment.
I've had a lot of people be able to pour into my life to get me here, and I'm super thankful. As you've gotten to share this news, what have the best reactions been and who else has stood out? I don't know, man. I've had a lot of friends, a lot of people that were pretty shocked that it happened that quick, five games in AAA, and there were some pretty funny reactions about that.
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Chapter 4: How does Konnor Griffin handle the pressure of high expectations?
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Pretty special to hear the players I've been compared to. Those guys, they've done it at the highest level. They were in similar situations, but continued to work hard and get to where they were, and that's why everybody remembers them. So that's the path I'm trying to take.
Today's the first day of kind of carving out a legacy that I want to build, and I'm ready to do that and try to be right up there with those top guys.
Connor, you mentioned Chris Truby is a big person in your life who's developing at shortstop. How important has he been just this year and your dreams of becoming that shortstop for the Pirates in the future?
Yeah, he's been fantastic. I mean, all the way back to last spring training. He's the guy that I kind of failed to just because he understands my game. He knows what I want to work on. He's helped me develop in a lot of different ways and to kind of team up with him here. and Pittsburgh and be around them every day. It's going to be nothing but good for my development at Shoreside.
I had a conversation with Jackson Holliday when he got called up about what it's like to sort of carry the top prospect label. What does it mean for you to be putting that chapter, short as it was for you, behind you and have an opportunity to now go forward as a big leaguer?
I think it's great that All the prospect stuff, that's behind me. I'm not worried about that anymore. It's all about winning games here in Pittsburgh. It was fun. The minor league stint was fun. I learned a lot. It was really good for my development the past two years, but now it's time to take all the skills that I've learned, all the adjustments I've made.
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Chapter 5: What emotions did Konnor Griffin experience before his debut?
It's time to go put them on the field and go win some games.
Last one here, Kevin. There's been a lot of talk about a long-term contract extension, Connor. How important is it to you to lock in long-term with the Pirates and kind of give a chance to be a franchise cornerstone?
Yeah, I mean, all I'm going to say is just I want to be a Pirate for a long time. You know, this is a special place and thankful to be here.