In the days before the Major League Baseball draft in June, former Panther Jim Negrych had… In the days before the Major League Baseball draft in June, former Panther Jim Negrych had the chance to work out in PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“It was unbelievable,” Negrych said. “It gives you a goal to get back there because you don’t want to leave.”

The Pirates didn’t want Negrych to leave either. With the 170th pick in the draft, the Pirates selected the two-time All-American second baseman in the sixth round.

“I love Pittsburgh,” Negrych said. “I’ve lived three years of my life there and when I heard my name called by Pittsburgh, I couldn’t picture a better team to be drafted by.”

It was no coincidence that the Pirates took Negrych, a player who flourished in his college career not miles from where the franchise plays half of its season.

“Believe me, I took the best player available and he was the best available,” Pirates scouting director Ed Creech said. “It was a bonus he was at Pitt.”

The draft talk about Negrych began almost as soon as this, his junior year started. But, make no mistake — the Buffalo native was on the Pirates’ radar long before his final year as a Panther.

“(Pirates regional scout) John Mercurio has been on this guy for a long time and turned him on to us, and basically we had everybody in the organization coming in to look at him,” Creech said. “He’s been tracking Jim for a long time. We’ve got some history.”

In the weeks leading up to draft day, Negrych knew the Pirates weren’t the only team after him.

“I felt that [the Pirates] were interested but there were a couple other teams that were interested too,” Negrych said. “I went with a couple workouts with some teams and had to wait around but everything turned out good.”

Negrych also showcased his talent to the Cleveland Indians, Washington Nationals and New York Mets, which is why Creech feels he and the Pirates got lucky with their sixth-round choice.

“We feel like we got a steal,” Creech said. “He could have gone much higher and I could have understood why he would have gone higher.

“We feel very fortunate to have gotten him.”

The Pirates also took another second baseman, Shelby Ford out of Oklahoma State in the third round, which could raise some eyebrows as to why they would draft two players of the same position three rounds apart. But Creech suggests that drafting isn’t done by position.

“Basically we like offensive players, and for us Jim was an offensive second baseman, but he might be able to play third [base] or left field down the road.”

“[Position] doesn’t really matter,” Creech assured. “Bottom line is offense if you can get it, and these two guys provided offense.”

Negrych provided Pitt with offense in abundance, and it shows through his statistics. Just this year, Negrych lead Pitt in nearly every offensive category, belting 11 home runs and driving in 60 while keeping a .396 batting average. Throughout his career, Negrych became one of only five Panthers to record 200 hits and one of two to do so in just three years. He also ranks second all-time in home runs (34), doubles (48) and runs batted in (148) as a Panther.

“His biggest asset was the power and hit to him,” Creech said. “He’s had great stats at Pitt, and for us he’s what I would call a power bat at second base which is great because second base is an offensive position.”

Negrych knows his bat is a big attraction, but believes he brings a better quality to the plate.

“I’m a hard worker,” Negrych said. “Sure my offense, but I’m going to work hard every day. That’s what I bring the table. I’m going to go out there and outwork everybody I play against.”

The work for Negrych in the big leagues has already begun. Since he signed a contract with the Pirates, he’s been working out in their facilities in Bradenton, Fla. and began his first minor league assignment for the Single-A Williamsport Crosscutters, the team’s minor league affiliate in the New York-Penn League.

Although Negrych is the first Panther to be drafted by the Pirates since current Oakland A’s manager Ken Macha in 1972, Creech has a soft spot for Pittsburgh area players.

“You always like to get those guys from around the city,” Creech said. “If there were two equal players and one is home grown and one is from another part of the country I would take the home grown guy.

“For me it’s a feel good feeling, and at the same time I’d like to think they’d love to play in the stadium and be a part of the Pirates and Jim has indicated that to us.”