October 17, 2014
Friday Insider: Banister will be heavy loss
A weekly feature aimed at rounding up a whole lot of odds and ends from a whole lot of time spent around our local teams …
• Don’t underestimate the loss off Jeff Banister to the Pirates. His 29 years with the organization, from minor-league catcher, to a 1.000 lifetime batting average in the bigs — singled in his lone at-bat — to his many years of building up the farm system at the grass-roots level of inspiration and instruction, to his loyalty and service to Clint Hurdle these past three years … that doesn’t just show up and shout hello.
Some of you will know that from the experience I shared from Atlanta on the night the Pirates clinched a playoff berth last month. That was quintessential Banny, both before and after that game.
I’ll give you another, one I’ll mention again to Banister today when I reach out to congratulate him on becoming the Rangers’ new manager:
