Pirates fire Derek Shelton after 38 games in first manager axing of MLB season

Congrats if you took Under 40 games in your first managerial firing pool.

The last-place Pirates fired manager Derek Shelton on Thursday amid a 12-26 start that has included team several controversies and the recent hospitalization after a fan fell 20-plus feet in the outfield stands.

Bench coach Don Kelly has been elevated to manager.

Shelton, 54, coached the Pirates to a 306-440 record during his tenure, with Pittsburgh never topping 76 wins in any campaign.

“Derek is a good man who did a lot for the Pirates and Pittsburgh, but it was time for a change,” Pirates owner Bob Nutting said in a statement.

“The first quarter of the season has been frustrating and painful for all of us. We have to do better. I know that. (General manager) Ben (Cherington) knows that. Our coaches know that. Our players know that.

“There is a lot of baseball left to be played. We need to act with a sense of urgency and take the steps necessary to fix this now to get back on track as a team and organization.”

Managing the Pirates can be a thankless job due to the lack of spending by Nutting that leaves the roster in a compromised state, but the Pirates had some hopes entering the year that perhaps they could be in the Wild Card mix behind reigning NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes.

Instead, these season has resembled too many lost seasons of recent Pirates memory.

Pittsburgh ranks 29th in runs scored entering Thursday and the team’s 4.31 ERA ranked 26th in baseball.

The Pirates have lost five of eight starts, leaving him with a 3-4 record despite a 2.77 ERA.

“Derek worked incredibly hard and sacrifice a lot over five-plus years. His family became a big part of the Pirates family, and we will miss that,” Cherington said in the team’s statement. “He’s an incredibly smart, curious and driven baseball leader. I believe he was the right person for the job when he was hired. I also believe that change is now necessary. I wish Derek and his family all the best in their next chapter.”

Kelly had served as Shelton’s bench coach throughout his tenure and will be a first-time manager.

He appeared in 585 career major-league games with the Pirates, Tigers and Marlins from 2007-16, hitting .230 with 23 homers.

“Donnie is as respected as any person in our clubhouse and throughout our organization,” Nutting said in the release. “He is a Pirates. He bleeds back and gold. No one is more committed, and no one loves this team or city more than Donnie. He is the right person to manage our team and help us get back on track.”

In addition to the on-the-field woes, the Pirates have been embroiled in public relations disasters regarding the replacing of a Roberto Clemente tribute for an alcohol ad, the angering of fans with their “Bucco Bricks” outside PNC Park and the latest bizarro moment featuring a stadium employee whipping a fan with is belt during a disagreement that turned physical this past Sunday.

The Pirates also dealt with the April 30 shocking moment when 20-year-old Kavan Markwood fell onto the field from the right-field seats, breaking his neck, back and collarbone.

“I can’t really sleep. I have a lot of back pain,” Markwood told TribLive recently.