![\"Konnor](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Konnor-Griffin-e1775274026285.jpg\")
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Konnor Griffin talks what motivates him after MLB debut.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a> rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin, 19, became the youngest player at his position to debut on Friday since Alex Rodriguez in 1994 with the Seattle Mariners.<\/p>\n Considered the top prospect in baseball<\/a>, Griffin jumped from high school to the minor leagues in 2025 after the Pirates took him with the No. 9 pick in the 2024 MLB<\/a> Draft. Griffin, who is also married already, explained the reason behind his earlier success on and off the field before age 20 after a 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say just faith,\u201d Griffin told reporters<\/a> on Friday. \u201cJust not getting too far ahead of myself. Just enjoying being where I am, trying to serve others, put others before myself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know this could be taken away at any moment,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd so, just try not to take it for granted. And just enjoy what I feel like I\u2019m called to do, and that\u2019s play baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n Griffin grew up in Floodwood, Mississippi, and became a phenom at Jackson Preparatory School. He committed to play for LSU, but he chose the jump to the pros instead.<\/p>\n Griffin shined in the minors last year with a .333 batting average, 21 home runs, 94 RBI, and 65 stolen bases. His hitting power, athleticism, and fielding had coaches, scouts, and media pundits raving about his potential.<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s debut marked the most-anticipated since Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels<\/a> in 2011.<\/p>\n Konnor Griffin Talks First MLB At-Bat<\/p>\n Griffin had a first at-bat that went as well as it could go with an RBI double to center field off of Orioles pitcher Kyle Bradish\u2019s curveball.<\/p>\n \u201cI was up there trying to compete,\u201d Griffin said. \u201cThat\u2019s the goal is to kind of make it sound like that (silence at the plate) every time you get in the box, focus on the pitcher, go compete. I didn\u2019t really hear the silence, \u2026 but it was special walking up to the plate. Hearing the fans go crazy, that was awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n Pittsburgh capitalized on the momentum in the second inning with a 4-0 lead, and the Pirates held on to win at home. Griffin finished 2-3 with a run and an RBI.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was awesome, getting the win,\u201d Griffin said. \u201cIt was just a cherry on top. It was hands down one of the best hits of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n Mike Trout a Cautionary Tale For Pirates Fans<\/p>\n Griffin joins a Pirates team that hasn\u2019t produced a winning season since 2018, and Pittsburgh has only four winning seasons since 1992. The Pirates are looking to Griffin to help turn things around and bring excitement to a fan base that has witnessed mostly mediocre baseball for three decades.<\/p>\n The Angels with Trout may serve as a cautionary tale for Pirates fans in terms of hopes with Griffin. Los Angeles made one AL Divisional Series, produced four winning seasons with one AL West title in Trout\u2019s career.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh had a 76\u201386 record last season, and the Pirates look to build with the addition of Griffin. The Pirates boast best pitchers in baseball with young star Paul Skenes, a potential Cy Young contender.<\/p>\n Griffin\u2019s first game looked promising in what he can do right off the bat, and more is to come. For Friday, Griffin was happy to soak in the first time playing an MLB game.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything in general was just amazing, running onto the field, hearing my name called,\u201d Griffin said. \u201cI tried to just be present. Didn\u2019t really feel my feet much \u2026 but just tried to be where my feet were and enjoy the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMatthew Davis<\/a> covers the NFL, WNBA and college sports for Heavy.com. As a contributing writer to the StarTribune, he has also covered Minnesota prep sports since 2016. More about Matthew Davis<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Pirates\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Konnor Griffin talks what motivates him after MLB debut. Pittsburgh Pirates rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin, 19, became…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":662150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2402],"tags":[5,4,10,776,64,4297],"class_list":{"0":"post-662149","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-pirates","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-pirates","11":"tag-pittsburgh","12":"tag-pittsburgh-pirates","13":"tag-pittsburghpirates"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116344480061117614","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=662149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/662150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=662149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=662149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=662149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}