University High and WVU legend Gyorko returns to Morgantown as manager of West Virginia Black Bears
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (BVM) — Morgantown baseball runs through Jedd Gyorko’s blood. Although his eight-year MLB career kept him away from the mountain state, Gyorko’s heart was still back home. Now, Gyorko will return to the area in a big way.
On April 12, the West Virginia Black Bears baseball team announced that Gyorko would serve as the team’s first manager as they enter the new MLB Draft League. Gyorko will be the fifth manager since the Black Bears debuted in 2015.
“Obviously I’m excited for the new gig, looking forward to it,” Gyorko said during his introductory press conference. “It should be a fun summer. Hopefully we can get back to some normalcy. [I’m] glad to be back here in Morgantown, obviously this is home, but this summer I don’t have to leave which is pretty exciting so I’m looking forward to that.”
🚨 🚨 BREAKING NEWS OF THE BEST KIND 🚨🚨
Hometown Hero JEDD GYORKO is named the manager for the 2021 West Virginia Black Bears season!
Read more: https://t.co/mpx6LOBznL pic.twitter.com/44MkJ2PSuL
— WV Black Bears (@WVBlackBears) April 12, 2021
There may not be a person who embodies baseball in Morgantown better than the former big leaguer. As a player for University High School in the city, Gyorko would earn four All-Conference honors as well as three All-State honors during his four years with the team while leading the Hawks to West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission state titles in both 2004 and 2007. While his skills on the diamond attracted many Division I programs, Gyorko decided to stay home, quite literally, as he would attend West Virginia University as a member of the Mountaineers baseball team.
By the time his career ran its course at WVU, Gyorko left as one of the best players in program history. During his three seasons with the Mountaineers, the infielder started all 168 games he played in and left the program as their all-time leader in batting average with .404, extra-base hits with 113 and home runs where he is tied for first with 35. He also sits at No. 2 in runs scored with 207, RBIs with 178 and doubles with 73 while finishing No. 3 in total hits with 281. He would also earn 10 All-American honors during his time in the Blue and Gold and was inducted into the Mountaineers’ Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.
Gyorko would make the jump to the professional ranks after he was drafted with the No. 59 overall pick by the San Diego Padres in the 2010 MLB Draft, becoming the seventh-highest drafted player in WVU history. Gyorko’s career would start fast as he finished No. 6 in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2013 after hitting .249 with 23 homers and 63 RBI in 125 games with San Diego.
The third baseman’s best seasons came when he played in parts of four seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals from 2016-2019. He hit a career-best 30 home runs for St. Louis in 2016.
#ManagersWhoRake 😍 https://t.co/rECrpQGe1a
— WV Black Bears (@WVBlackBears) April 12, 2021
Overall, the WVU alum averaged .245 with 121 home runs and 370 RBI in 846 career big league games over eight seasons. He last played during the MLB’s shortened 2020 campaign, where he hit nine home runs and 17 RBI in 42 games for the Milwaukee Brewers.
While this move back to Morgantown may be Gyorko’s first turn in a managerial role, players would be hard pressed to find a better leader for their future goals to make the majors. Only 32-years-old, Gyorko still understands what it is like to play in today’s MLB and has connections all over the league.
“I’m looking forward to working with some college kids and hopefully helping them progress and advance and get some knowledge going into the next level,” Gyorko said. “Obviously it’s not easy to get to the big leagues and I would’ve loved to have a league like this or someone who had been through it to kind of give me advice and what to expect.”
Congrats Jedd! 👏 There's no better place to begin your coaching career than right here where it all started! ⚾️ https://t.co/FxMM05526G
— WVU Mountaineers (@WestVirginiaU) April 12, 2021
Though in a new position back in his hometown, Gyorko wouldn’t go so far to say his MLB playing days are over. In fact, the infielder earned numerous opportunities to play during the 2021 season, but elected to go with the Black Bears as his family is expecting to introduce their fourth child in June.
“As far as being done, I haven’t thrown the towel in yet, I haven’t officially retired,” Gyorko said. “I wanted to stay home. I had multiple big league offers this offseason and my wife and I figured it would be best for me to stay home.”
With the addition of Gyorko, there will be plenty of excitement surrounding the Black Bears and their first season in the new MLB Draft League.
“I’m really looking forward to getting to see the kids and teaching them and guiding them in the right direction,” Gyorko said. “Like I said I would’ve loved to have this opportunity that these kids will have to play for someone who has been through pretty much everything and a whole league to showcase their talents. So I’m really looking forward to seeing these kids come out and play and I can’t wait to see how hungry they are to get after it and to try to teach them.”
While it remains to be seen how long Gyorko will stay in his role as the team’s skipper, Morgantown residents will be able to see one of the area’s best players take his turn leading the next generation of baseball talent.
"Glad to be back here in Morgantown. Obviously, this is home."
We're glad to have you back, Jedd. 🥰
Catch the full press conference with new manager, Jedd Gyorko, here: https://t.co/PHdEx55toz pic.twitter.com/nmkco88tw5
— WV Black Bears (@WVBlackBears) April 19, 2021
