LOS ANGELES -- The story of David Bednar is already a yinzer's dream come true.
The Mars, Pa. native grew up going to games at Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park. He rose from a lightly-recruited local high school pitcher to 35th-round draft pick to becoming a Pirate after coming over in a trade in 2021.
Since coming to his hometown team, he's elevated himself to becoming the Pirates' closer and their All-Star representative.
So how many more chapters of this book are there?
“Hopefully a few more," Bednar told me Monday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, host to Major League Baseball's All-Star Game. "Honestly, it never gets old. Each day, I still pinch myself. It still never feels real.”
“I’ll try to take some notes,” he joked shortly after.
Bednar jests, humbled by being among some of the best pitchers in the game, a baseball fraternity of which he justly belongs. But All-Star selections are done partially because of perception, and a lot of that for relievers comes from saves. While Bednar has established himself as the Pirates' closer, that wasn't the case at the beginning of the year, where Derek Shelton opted for a closer by committee and to use his best relievers in high-leverage spots.
As the year progressed, it became clear Bednar was the right guy to close out games, though it periodically required him to pitch the eighth as well.
“The title thing was never a huge deal for me," he said. "I just wanted to pitch whenever I was given the ball, whatever gives us the best chance to win. I think that was the thing I was most proud of. Just going out there to shut the door. They grinded their ass the whole game, so to cap it off is huge.”
But the strategy did draw some criticism as the All-Star Game neared and Bednar hit his first rough patch of the season. A back injury in mid-June sidelined him for a few days, and while his stuff is comparable to before, the results have not been as sharp since.
Leading up to the All-Star Game, Bednar was used in a more traditional role more and more, though he doesn't feel he needs to change his role from earlier this year.
“I’m good with whatever," Bednar said. "I want the ball… I want to compete out there until they tell me I can’t.”
It's undeniable that part of Bednar's value is because of those extra innings pitched. Other teams have taken notice, too, which is why his name is starting to pop up in trade rumors.
To be clear, the Pirates have no interest in trading him and aren't the ones making the call, but they aren't yet in a position where they can turn down a team before they make an offer. It's a similar situation to last year with Bryan Reynolds. The amount of times he appears in mock trades or rumors is not reflective of the likelihood of a trade.
Still, it's enough to keep Bednar off Twitter for the next month, even if his friends and ex-teammates keep bringing up every time his name is mentioned.
“It’s something I really don’t pay attention to, but on the flip side, it means you’re doing something right if you’re in the conversation," he said.
Of course there is one surefire way to end those discussions: A contract extension. There's no indication that it's something that has been broached by either side, though one source in Bednar's camp has brought it up as a possibility at some point in the future.
So if the Pirates theoretically brought it up at some point?
“I love Pittsburgh and everything about it. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
