Yoshi Tsutsugo was waiting for his turn to make a difference in the game. The Pirates knocked on his door with an opportunity after the Los Angeles Dodgers let him go him after just 12 games.

Tsutsugo has hit .288/.356/.788 with a 1.144 OPS in 21 games with the Pirates, while also notching three pinch-hit home runs among his 11 extra-base hits. Though his bat has taken him to another level of play, his defense has made an impression on his skipper.

"I think he's getting more comfortable out there. A lot of the time he spent in Japan, he spent in left field, so right field is a little bit different for him,” manager Derek Shelton said. “Here, he deals with the Clemente wall; in Chicago, you deal with all kinds of elements in the wind doing a bunch of different things.”

Tsutsugo has logged 36 innings in right field for the Pirates without recording an error among his seven total chances. The 29-year-old is playing well-rounded baseball in his second season in the Major Leagues. Whether or not he’ll be in a Bucs uniform for the 2022 season, Tsutsugo is making a lasting impression in Pittsburgh.

“He's continuing to ask questions," Shelton said. "He's done a nice job throwing the ball to the right base on the cut. [He’s] just doing things fundamentally well."

Shelty’s Hall of Fame experience

While Shelton prepared for the series finale against the Tigers, an old teammate of his was being inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame. Shelton started off his pregame Zoom call with reporters by congratulating the 2021 class, and he beamed with pride when he talked about Derek Jeter, the newly inducted first-ballot Hall of Famer.

“Other than the fact that he never changed as a person to the guy who he was as a 19-year-old kid till the person he is now. I've seen some cool things in Derek's career,” said Shelton, who was a Minor League catcher in the Yankees' organization. “I was there the year when he made 56 [errors at Greensboro in 1993]. I was there for [his 3,000th hit], only because I was on the opposing side. I was there when he and Andy Pettitte came and took [Mariano Rivera] out of the game together. I've seen some really cool moments, and he's a special dude.”

Shelton’s appreciation for the Hall of Fame is rooted in his experience when he worked alongside former Twins manager Paul Molitor for two seasons. Molitor was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004 following seven All-Star selections, four Silver Slugger Awards and the 1993 World Series MVP Award.

The 51-year-old skipper has seen plenty of baseball in his years in the Minors, as well as time as a Major League coach and manager. However, someone of Jeter’s caliber has been a rare occurrence.

"I don't know if anybody envisioned the fact that he was going to be a Hall of Famer, he was going to be sixth all-time [in hits],” Shelton said of Jeter. “But I can tell you that ... when we were watching him play, we knew we were watching someone we were going to tell our kids and grandkids about."