SAN FRANCISCO – Standing near the first base line on a blustery Friday afternoon and across from the Giants dugout that Pirates catcher Joey Bart intermittently called home for four seasons, the former top pick recalled the whirlwind experience of being traded in April.
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi “called me, and I was obviously excited to get to Pittsburgh and meet these guys, but at the same time, it’s just different,” Bart said. “You’ve been somewhere for so long and things happen so fast that right now, it’s about getting caught up.”
Bart, 27, said he had a “weird feeling” about Pittsburgh being a possibility, and welcomed going back to the part of the country his parents hailed from.
He’s focused on getting acclimated to the Pirates, but also enjoyed being back in the Bay Area. He could be seen talking former teammate Logan Webb before the game.
“I’ve talked to a few guys, but haven’t talked to too many people today,” Bart said. “It’s kind of weird, not in a bad way. I don’t want to invade on them, you know what I mean? Like, there’s a series here.
“It’s crazy, because until you leave, you don’t realize how big and how close those relationships were.”
Bart made a splash by the three rivers in his first at-bat when he hit a home run against Baltimore.
The catcher briefly made headlines when he was scratched from a game after getting plunked in the head by a home run ball in batting practice while catching a bullpen session on April 17, but he’s otherwise had a charmed start to his year.
He credited teammates like Pirates icon and former Giant Andrew McCutchen for helping him adjust to the Steel City.
“It’s been crazy, being so comfortable with so many people for so long, to coming to a new clubhouse,” Bart said. “But I really am enjoying it and have a lot of respect for the way the club goes about things.”
Yes, it’s a small sample size, but the former Giant has started in seven games and is hitting .304/.429/.739 with three home runs and eight RBIs in 23 at-bats while wearing the Black and Gold.
He said the key to his hot start has been all-mental.
Pirates catcher Joey Bart , shown here in a file photo, was drafted by the Giants in 2018/Bay Area News Group)
“Honestly I’m just going and competing,” Bart said. “My mindset is just about getting out there and getting after it having fun. Whenever I’m called upon and whenever I’m playing, to just bring whatever I’ve got.”
The Giants tabbed Bart as the future of the franchise when they selected him No. 2 overall out of Georgia Tech in the 2018 overall draft. The team hoped Peach State lightning would strike twice behind the plate, with Georgia native Buster Posey winding down his Hall of Fame career.
But the bat that put up a gaudy .359 average in his junior year for the Yellowjackets never materialized at the major league level, hitting .219/.288/.354 in 162 games over four seasons.
Bart never played more than 97 games in a season, the same year (2022) that he hit all 11 home runs of his Giants career.
The Giants finally ended the Bart experiment in early April when the team swapped the 27-year old veteran for 21-year-old pitching prospect Austin Strickland.
“A change of scenery sometimes does you well,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “ You can go somewhere else, and you can take a deep breath. I think everybody here is happy he’s gotten playing time and has done well.”
In a twist, it’s now Bart who is outshining a former top pick behind the plate.
Henry Davis was the top pick in the 2021 draft, but is hitting .180 with no home runs, and in the the 25th percentile in most batting advanced stats according to Baseball Savant, including the first – yes, first – percentile in expected slugging at .227.
Davis, who got the starting nod on Friday over the new addition, is in a situation Bart was in not too long ago, and is part of a group that includes the former Giant as players who are trying to unlock their potential in Pittsburgh.
“We’re young, we’re talented and there’s a lot of talent on the field and a lot of talent coming,” Bart said.
NOTES
Alex Cobb, who has yet to pitch this season as he recovers from hip surgery, has not thrown the for the past few days because of soreness in his shoulder.
Blake Snell, on the 15-day IL with a groin injury to left adductor strain, will was cleared to play catch. Melvin said “he’s in a progression where he’s throwing, but not off the mound yet.”
Austin Slater has gotten off to a wretched start at the plate, hitting .115 in 26 at-bats across 18 games. His manager still has faith in the 31-year-old, telling the media, “ It always feels like he’s an at-bat away from going on a tear. He gets deep count at-bats and draws some walks, he’s hit a couple balls hard. He just hasn’t seen a lot of results yet.”
