Pirates
Perrotto: Pirates Rookie Nick Yorke: ‘Baseball Runs My Life’
When most players get drafted and sign with an organization, they generally assume that they will spend their entire professional careers with that team.
Nick Yorke felt that way when the Boston Red Sox selected him in the first round of the 2020 amateur draft with the 17th overall pick following his senior season of high school ball in San Jose. Yorke thought he would eventually call Fenway Park home for many years.
“I felt that way 100%,” Yorke said. “Everything I was told by everyone over there is they wanted me to be the long-term second baseman. So, to get traded kind of blindsided me.”
The Red Sox dealt Yorke to the Pirates on July 29 for right-hander Quinn Priester, Pittsburgh’s first-round draft pick in 2019. It turned out to be a great move for Yorke.
The infielder/outfielder is in the major leagues after the Pirates called him up from Triple-A Indianapolis on Sept. 16. He couldn’t be happier.
“It was a little bit of shock to be traded but then I was excited, especially with the young core going on over here,” Yorke said. “It’s a really good opportunity to help the big-league team right away. The transition to a new organization went smoothly and everyone has welcomed me here with open arms. I really couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
The 22-year-old Yorke’s long-term future with the Red Sox seemed to be in doubt coming into this season.
Boston acquired young second baseman Vaughn Grissom from the Atlanta Braves in an offseason trade. The Red Sox then assigned Yorke to Double-A Portland to start the season rather than Triple-A Worcester.
Yorke has been most frequently used at second base during his professional career. However, Nick Gonzales has made a case this season to be the starter at that position in 2025.
In his brief time with the Pirates, Yorke has also started at third base and in left field and right field. He would be willing to accept a super utility player role where he could play multiple positions while receiving regular at-bats.
“It’s been fun moving around the field, playing different positions,” Yorke said. “It kind of reminds me of playing travel ball when I was growing up. You get to the field, look at the lineup to see what position you’re playing, and then just go out and play. I feel like I’m pretty adaptable to whatever the team needs.”
However, hitting is what Yorke drafted in the first round and was the biggest reason the Pirates traded for him.
“At the end of the day, it’s just ball,” Yorke said. “There’s a pitcher on the mound and I’m going to get in the box and do everything I can to find a barrel. Whatever uniform that is, I’m going to do my best. But to do for the Pittsburgh Pirates, my new team, it means a lot.”
You don’t have to talk with Yorke very long to understand how much he loves baseball. By admission, Yorke is a “baseball rat” and never really has an offseason when he returns home to San Jose, Calif., for the winter.
Yorke’s mother Robyn was an All-America softball player at Fresno State and appeared in three College World Series.
He also has an older brother Joe and a younger brother Zach. All three are about a year apart and Joe played collegiately at Cal Poly this past season while Zach played at Grand Canyon.
“Me and my brothers, it’s kind of our bonding tool,” Yorke said. “Some guys go back home in the offseason and take some time off from swinging, but I like to get back in the cages together with brother and have them throw me some (batting practice). Baseball runs my life, my brothers’ lives, our family’s lives.”
It’s hard not to like a guy like that.
