Griffin ‘all smiles’ after first homer against Orioles

SARASOTA, Fla. — When Konnor Griffin connected on Brandon Young’s 1-1 pitch, he knew he barreled the ball and immediately believed it would be an extra-base hit.

With the Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles tied at 2-2 in the top of the ninth inning, Griffin had only one thing on his mind.

“I just hit it hard and was running as fast as I could,” Griffin said, “thinking trying to get a triple and get in scoring position and try to win a baseball game.”

Griffin sprinted so hard his helmet fell off before he reached second base. That’s when he saw the umpire signal that it was a home run, the first of spring training for the 18-year-old Griffin, who was the Pirates’ 2024 first-round pick (No. 9 overall) and is ranked the game’s No. 43 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 57 by Baseball America.

“That’s how I found out,” Griffin said. “I was focused on three.”

It was the professional home run for Griffin, who was assigned to the Florida Complex League after signing for a $6,532,025 million bonus last July. And he celebrated like it, slapping his hands together as he rounded third base, giving a low-five to third base coach Mike Rabelo and celebrating in the dugout with Pirates coaches and teammates.

“Yeah, it was fun. All smiles,” Griffin said. “That was the go-ahead run. We’re trying to win games. That’s the thing about the Pirates: We’re trying to compete every game and stack up game after game. Everybody was happy. Then we went right back to trying to win the game.”

It was one of four homers by the Pirates, preceded by solo shots from Oneil Cruz and Nick Solak and followed by a two-run blast by Enmanuel Valdez in a 5-2 win over the Orioles on Saturday in a Grapefruit League game at Ed Smith Stadium.

Griffin is making the most of his first big-league camp, where the 6-foot-4, 225-pounder has been practicing at shortstop and playing center field in games. He singled against the Minnesota Twins in his debut, and was 2 for 5 with two RBIs and three runs scored in four games before being reassigned to minor league camp Sunday, along with left-handed pitcher Anthony Solometo and infielders Jack Brannigan and Termarr Johnson, who was the Pirates’ 2022 first-round pick.

“It’s been cool. I give credit to a lot of people that have poured into helping me swing the bat well,” Griffin said. “I just take it a day at a time and give the glory to God. I’m thankful to be here and thankful that the Pirates believe in me.”