Ex-Pirates catcher McKenry details his devotion at Faith Night

Jun. 17—Thursday marked former Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Michael McKenry's second straight appearance at Faith Night hosted by the Johnstown Mill Rats at Sargent's Stadium at the Point.

After serving as the lead instructor at a youth clinic prior to Thursday's Mill Rats' game against the West Virginia Miners, McKenry detailed how faith kept him grounded throughout his professional baseball career, which included seven years in the big leagues.

"I think God gives you a platform for a reason," said McKenry, who played for the Pirates from 2011-13. "I think it's to get up on that platform and share it.

"If you're doing it right, people are going to gravitate toward you, but they're not really gravitating toward you, they're gravitating toward the vessel you have. It's really the spirit pulling people in and let God do the work. It's very important to me."

As the Colorado Rockies' seventh-round pick in 2006, McKenry experienced plenty of baseball's inevitable ebbs and flows.

At 5-foot-10 and 205 pounds, McKenry wasn't blessed with the best baseball measurables, but persevered through determination and grit.

"You can kind of say your walk with God is kind of like your journey to the big leagues, but you're thinking about the bigger context," said McKenry, nicknamed "The Fort" for his ability to block pitches and his similar surname to Fort McHenry, which protected Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British army during the War of 1812. "You get your opportunities. You want to seize those opportunities. Instead of having to work so hard to get to the big leagues, God said, 'You've made it. Just accept it.' Every time I think about it, I almost want to tear up because it's humbling to think something you can't even fathom or understand and having God care that much about us when you make a mistake and everything, that's the hardest part."

McKenry made his Johnstown debut in 2004 when he played for Washington's Arlington Senators in the AAABA Tournament. Washington went 0-2, but McKenry brought up some vivid memories.

"I do remember I hit a homer over the wall (in left), the whole wall at that point," McKenry said of playing at the stadium with a taller wall in left field before renovations took place in 2005. "It was the first time I stayed at a dorm with a team. That was really neat.

"Coming down here was probably the highlight because it was a championship. Hearing some of the stories (about the tournament's history), I'm a baseball junkie, so it was really neat."

McKenry is in the midst of his fifth season as a pre- and post-game analyst with AT&T Sportsnet, which covers the Pirates on television.

After ending a nine-game losing streak on Wednesday, the Pirates are currently 25-37 and in third place in the National League Central Division. Nine Pittsburgh players have made their Major League Baseball debuts this season. More talent is in the pipeline and ready to make their impact in Pittsburgh over the next few years, which has energized McKenry.

"There's nothing like a debut, first off," McKenry said. "You just love those firsts. There's going to be a lot of guys coming up and they're going to be excited. They're going to make mistakes. They're doing things in Pittsburgh different. You're seeing 22 year olds, 23 year olds, 24 year olds, that didn't happen with the old regime. This regime is going with the mold they have, using all of the elements at hand and trying to figure out the best way to enhance the human right in front of them. Then it's a choice from a player. If these guys choose to be really good, they're going to have the resources to get it done."

Having been a member of the 2013 Pirates, who ended a 21-year postseason drought, stands as one of McKenry's top moments of his career. It was in the two prior seasons where the core group became a close-knit unit and fostered an unforgettable season in 2013.

"We ran to first place in '11," McKenry said. "Then in '12, we got even closer. The team in '12 got really close. Then they went out and grabbed a couple pieces in Russell Martin and (Francisco) Liriano. We knew what we were going to do. We knew what we had. That was the moment where everything came together."

The night of Oct. 1, 2013, stands out in McKenry's mind.

It was the date of the National League wild-card game against the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh's first playoff game in 21 seasons. The Pirates prevailed 6-2 and advanced to the National League Divisional Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, where they fell in five games.

"We're like, 'We're going to do this. We're going to be the team. You just show up.' Then everybody showed up, all in black," McKenry said. "Going wild, getting a guy that does not frazzled, frazzled (Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Johnny Cueto). Honestly, if I was to say what was the winning element in that game, you can talk about the home runs, but it was really the crowd. It was really the atmosphere. We were all coming out of the dugout early. It was almost something like a giant army coming in. I think it sets a precedent of what could be, what should be and, I'm praying, will be in Pittsburgh."

Jake Oswalt is a copy editor for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @TheWizOfOz11.