BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) – Jacob Stallings never expected his dad to beat him to Pittsburgh.
Kevin Stallings was hired Sunday as the men’s basketball coach at Pitt after his sudden departure from Vanderbilt. His son, Jacob, is a minor league player for the Pirates.
“Here’s been (at Vandy) since I was in the fourth grade, 17 years,” the catcher said Monday. “It’s just wild that it’s Pittsburgh. A funny coincidence.”
Kevin Stallings was in Bradenton all last week to watch his son work out with the Pirates at his first big league spring training camp. The elder Stallings went to interview at Pitt during the week, then returned to Florida to wait for the decision.
When word of his father’s new job started to spread Sunday morning, Stallings was catching a minor league game at Pirate City. Later that afternoon, he drove his dad to the Tampa airport for a flight to Pittsburgh.
“Dad was caught off-guard a little bit because Jamie (coach Dixon) left so abruptly,” Stallings said. “He’s really excited because Pitt’s a great program.”
A seventh-round pick in 2012, the 26-year-old Stallings spent last season with Double-A Altoona and caught 75 games. He batted .275.
Stallings hit .308 in his first 10 games with the Pirates this spring.
Stallings might begin this season at Triple-A Indianapolis, where he could get ample playing time while Elias Diaz works his way back from an elbow injury.