Gyorko steps in to manage Black Bears, door still open to MLB return

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Jedd Gyorko played his high school and college baseball in the city of Morgantown and returned to Mon County in the offseason throughout his eleven-year professional career. With a new member of his family on the way, Gyorko decided to stay home after an eight-year run in Major League Baseball.

Last week, the former University High School and WVU infielder was named the fifth manager of the West Virginia Black Bears. The Granville-based franchise is one of six teams in the newly-formed MLB Draft League, which will begin competition in late-May.

“I haven’t thrown in the towel yet. I haven’t officially retired,” Gyorko said. “I wanted to stay home. I had multiple big league offers this offseason. My wife and I figured it would be best for me to stay home. We’re expecting our fourth kid in June. The league was gracious enough that if an opportunity presents itself and it is something I want to do, then I can take that and go. But it definitely won’t be until the baby is born in June.”

Gyorko was selected in the second round of the 2010 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres and later played for the Cardinals, Dodgers and Brewers from 2013-2020.

“I have never spent a summer with my kids. I have never seen them play a baseball game. That’s something that has been tough on me and they are getting to the age where I felt like I needed to be around a little bit more.

“I was pretty fortunate this opportunity showed up and it allows me to obviously stay in Morgantown and stay in the game of baseball and do something I have always thought about doing. To gain that experience should be great.”

While Gyorko is keeping the window on a return to the field open, coaching the game and developing young players has always intrigued him.

“I always thought I would be pretty good at it. I have always felt like I had a high baseball IQ. I really enjoy working with my sons at their practices. I am looking forward to working with some college kids and hopefully help them progress and advance and get some knowledge going into the next level.

“This is all about the kids and letting the scouts see them so that they can try to do as well as they can and hopefully get a chance at the next level.”

The Draft League is a six-team league featuring a handful of former New York-Penn League franchises. Rosters will be comprised of future draft-eligible players, which could consist of current college and high school players leading up to the draft in July. As a result, rosters will be constantly changing as college seasons end and the draft comes around mid-summer.

“To sit here and say I know exactly how it is going to go would be a blatant lie. We are going to learn on the fly. This is new to everybody,” Gyorko said. “Once we get the roster, we’ll have to reach out to some of the college coaches and also look at what these kids have done throughout the year. I expect you are going to get some kids that have pitched an entire year and may not have many innings left. Each player is going to be on a player-by-player basis as far as what they need, how many innings and how many at bats they need.

“The rosters are going to be revolving pretty much the entire time. It is year one and there’s going to have to be a lot of adjustments that have to be made. But we are all excited about the league and what it can become.”





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