'Ain't no thing': Pirates players not fazed by cold home opener temperature

David Bednar knows better than to expect picturesque weather conditions during a Pittsburgh Pirates home opener.

The Mars native and two-time All-Star long has been acclimated to early-season games in Pittsburgh, first as a fan and now as the club’s closer.

So as Friday’s weather became apparent, with cloudy skies and temperatures in the low 40s ahead of first pitch at PNC Park against the Baltimore Orioles, Bednar was hardly rattled.

“Ain’t no thing,” Bednar said. “You have to get the body moving a little bit more. Other than that, I think it’s more of a mindset thing.”

Mindset and preparation seemed to be the consensus in the Pirates clubhouse with regards to what, if anything, changes in a player’s routine when it comes to being at his best while the weather is far from optimal.

The cold takes a toll on some more than others, such as pitchers in the dugout and bullpen, players not in the lineup as well as the designated hitter, all of whom are moving far less than their teammates.

“When you’re just sitting there for a while, everything kind of gets tighter and stuff, so you’ve got to stay warm,” reliever Ryan Borucki said. “But we have everything you really need: We’ve got our jackets on. We’ve got the heaters, but, yeah, you definitely have to warm up a little differently, maybe a little bit longer than normal. … You just have to move every inning. That’s what I do, more than usual.”

Basically, every player who stepped on the field at PNC Park on Friday is a professional.

Looking at all the baseball that makes up their collective amateur and professional careers, it’s unlikely any of them would be blindsided by brisk temperatures.

First baseman Rowdy Tellez, for example, who played seven seasons in Toronto and Milwaukee before signing with the Pirates this past offseason, has plenty of experience in suboptimal conditions.

Even infielder Alika Williams, a San Diego native who played collegiately at Arizona State, had plenty of brushes with the cold.

“I think all of us have played in some cold games growing up,” Williams said. “I remember very vividly going up to Seattle and playing the University of Washington and it being in the 30s and pouring rain. They have a turf field, so they’re not canceling any games out there. I remember that being pretty cold.

“There definitely is a little bit of an adjustment, coming from Florida for a month being in Bradenton during spring training. … I think (Washington) D.C. was a good little taste of playing in the cold, but I think we’re all ready. We’ve all done it in cold temperatures.”

Perhaps the most unfortunate byproduct of a cold-weather baseball game is felt by hitters, who are in for a nasty shock up the arms when making contact with the ball outside of a bat’s sweet spot.

Hitting the ball with the end of the barrel or closer to the hands produces a less-than-pleasant sensation.

“Unfortunately, if you do get one off the end of the bat, yeah, you’re gonna pay the price,” infielder/outfielder Connor Joe said. “It kind of just incentivizes us to find the barrel. We’re pros. We’ve got to perform in any atmosphere or climate. It’s not something I’m thinking about when I’m in the box. You get a stinger that lasts a bit longer than the summer, but other than that, it’s really it. We’re going to prepare. We’re going to be ready to run and do all the things that the game demands.”

While they might not be cause for any major alterations to strategy or approach, cold temperatures play into a pitcher’s hand, who might see an extra benefit to working the inside of the plate and seeking awkward contact.

“It’s definitely an advantage for the pitcher’s side,” Borucki said. “Say we have an at-bat and the guy fouls one off his foot, it’s going to hurt a lot more when it’s 30-40 degrees out than when it’s 80-90 degrees out. That’s definitely something to put in consideration. We have the advantage there: (Batters) catch one off the end (of the bat), they’re going to be feeling it.”

Ultimately, monitoring the weather might be more of a concern for attending fans. For the players, it’s not at the forefront of anyone’s mind.

“We have a lot of adrenaline running when we’re out there, and, honestly, that’s kind of our internal heater,” Williams said. “We’re pumped. I feel like when I’m out there, I don’t really notice the cold until I settle down and stop moving. When I’m out, I’m feeling like, ‘Let’s go. This feels good.’ ”