There are guys on their respective teams in their respective sports that deserve to win a championship for the work they’ve put in. Todd Helton in Colorado comes to mind, as does Shane Doan of the Phoenix Coyotes. For the Pirates, it’s the city that deserves the championship the most after the 20 years of losing. But the one person on the Pirates that deserves a ring more than anyone may just be Jeff Banister.
Pirates’ Director of Media Relations Jim Trdinich joked with Banister that I wanted to talk to him about him being with the organization for 100 years. While it hasn’t been that long, Banister is going into his 27th year with the organization as a player, manager and now bench coach.
Banister was drafted by the Pirates in the 25th round of the 1986 draft, but his career was unlike many others in baseball history. In fact, Banister finished his career hitting 1.000. No, that isn’t a typo. On July 23, 1991, Pirates’ catcher Don Slaught was injured and then manager Jim Leyland called up Bannister to make his Major League debut. Banister went 1-1 on the day and for his career.
“I wouldn’t change it and the further I get away from it, that moment in time, I wouldn’t change it,” Banister said with a smile on his face. ”I cherish and hold dear too many people that helped me get to that point in time. It was my small gift to them if you will. It’s extremely humbling to be able to do that.”
That would be the first and last at bat in Banister’s career. But to be able to put that uniform on then as a player and now as a coach, is something he holds dear to his heart.
“The sign that goes down in the tunnel into our dugout is Roberto Clemente’s quote ‘Each day I put a uniform on is the happiest day of my life,’ I feel that way as well,” he said. ”I feel truly blessed and lucky. It’s truly one of the best moments of my day when I get to put it on and I hope I never have to take it off.”
After his brief playing career, Banister went on to coach in the Pirates minor league system. He held different titles ranging from pitching coach, manager and even player coach for the Carolina Mudcats in 1993. In 2010 however, after Manager John Russell was let go, Banister was named bench coach for the Pirates with the hire of Clint Hurdle.
With his 27 years with this organization, does he feel deserves a championship more than anyone else?
“I think everybody that walks in a pair of shoes or puts their feet on this planet is deserving of something,” Banister said. ”Me personally, I don’t see it that way. There are a lot of people that came well before me and there will be a lot of people who put this uniform on long after I’m out of it. I respect the uniform and the name on it way too much to even put myself in a category to say that I deserve anything. I deserve what I put into each day and that’s it.”
Banister has been around this team long enough that he has seen what it’s like to have a winning product, but it’s been awhile. He said that right now, it feels good to be winning again.
“There’s no better feeling than to have and see what’s going on on the field right now,” Banister said. ”It’s what we’ve been striving to do. When you look at this team, it has it’s own identity. For me, it does bring back memories of teams we had in the ’90s that had this type of atmosphere.”
Banister is careful not to get caught up in the winning though because he knows it’s a long season and what it’s like on the other end.
“One thing that I do personally, is take each game, without being cliché, one game at a time because I have been on that road for a long time,” Banister stressed. ”I do know what it feels like not to succeed. Today though, it feels really good.”
Banister said this team has it’s own identity and resiliency has been the key. But what has been the difference between the team we see now and the team we saw the last few years?
“I think it’s the true selflessness of each individual and I truly believe they want to contribute for each other,” Banister said. ”We saw a little bit of it last year and more of it in spring training. These guys have come in and contributed to that attitude, help foster that attitude and continue to build true attitude. That truly is their bond and the difference maker.”
Banister is second in the pecking order only to Hurdle and said that the job he has done with this team is unbelievable, but it’s the players who have built off of it.
“The leadership of Clint (Hurdle) has helped grow that culture within this clubhouse, but I think it’s the players that continue to fuel that fire with everything they do,” Banister stated. ”You watch them inside, they’re loose and having fun. When it’s time to play, they go out and play and don’t panic.”
Banister said even with the struggles at the beginning of the season, this team has kept the same frame of mind.
“I think how we played in the very beginning of the season with how tough and resilient they were in games that we weren’t scoring runs, even then it was ‘What can we do to score one more run than the other team,’” Banister explained. ”It’s not just a statement with shallow words. It’s a true mantra and true creed. It’s what these guys hold onto and what they believe.”
A big part of this team’s success has been the MVP play of center fielder Andrew McCutchen. With all of the great players Banister has been around, he is equally impressed with the play of McCutchen.
“From the first time I ever saw him, until now, the progression to where he’s gotten to and where he possibly can get to in his career, I can’t rank him,” Banister said. “But in his own and who he is, he has all of the ingredients to be one of those special players that you continue to talk about for a long time.”
Banister shared a recent story about McCutchen that occurred on a Tuesday night last season. It’s a story about McCutchen doing the little things that don’t show up in the scorebook that go a long way with his teammates and coaching staff.
“I don’t have all of the words to describe what I see, but I’ll give you this story,” Banister said. ”There was a situation on a Tuesday night last season. It was late in the game and he hit a ball as a ground ball. He ran as fast as he has on any given time, but when you saw his foot hit the bag and the elation of him being able to beat that out, just seeing his excitement and elation of being safe knowing what that could do for our ball club. Some other players in the league that might not have run as hard as he did.”
And what followed, is a result of McCutchen’s hustle.
“The next hitter to walk up to the plate, Garrett Jones, hit the ball out of the ballpark. If you could have seen his (McCutchen) face when he got back to the dugout and know how important it was for him to beat that out, for me, that is the epitome of ‘Cutch. He’s going out there doing everything possible to help this team win. Truly great players have that desire to be that way inside of them. That for me is the difference maker in watching him and how he goes about his job and his responsibility to this team.”
Banister has seen it all in his time with the Pirates organization. With the stable of players, including McCutchen, that this team has now and for the future however, he does have one achievement left on his wish list.
“One thing that I’ll tell you I want to do, is I want to be around when we are celebrating in the middle of that field,” Banister said.
The look in his eyes when he said those words were filled with passion and were the words of a man who truly lives for this ball club. Does he deserve a title the most? That’s a matter of opinion. For me, however, there is no one on this team who deserves a ring more than he does.
