Over its 24 years as home of the Pirates, PNC Park has had a mesmerizing effect on many because of its picturesque view of downtown Pittsburgh.
By his own admission, Tsung-Che Cheng was the latest to be enchanted by the sights.
For Cheng, called up Monday by the Pirates from Triple-A Indianapolis, stepping onto the field at PNC Park and soaking in the view was when the reality of making it to the big leagues hit him.
“It’s very beautiful,” Cheng said through interpreter Haagen Tan. “I’m very proud of myself, and I never imagined that one day I could take batting practice in such a beautiful stadium.”
Cheng officially got the news of his big-league call-up Sunday, his wife’s birthday, from Indianapolis manager Chris Truby.
A 23-year-old shortstop from Taiwan, Cheng is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Pirates’ No. 17 overall prospect.
Following right-hander Thomas Harrington, he is the second player on the club’s Top 30 prospects list to reach Pittsburgh this season.
The Pirates gave him the call to bolster their infield depth, as Jared Triolo was placed on the 10-day injured list with a lumbar spine strain.
Throughout his minor-league career, Cheng, who throws right-handed but bats lefty, has played primarily shortstop.
He’s also seen action at second base and has a bit of experience at third, as well.
He’s made 271 starts at short, 90 at second and 13 at third.
“Just defensively, how dynamic he is, I think we saw the full scope of it in spring training, regardless if he played second or short — he can really defend,” manager Derek Shelton said. “He’s played some third a little bit in the minor leagues.
“Losing (Triolo), we need someone to be able to play short as the backup and, right now, we felt that (Cheng) fit us the best.”
On top of offering solid defense this spring, Cheng also swung a hot bat, slashing .353/.400/.647 with a homer, two doubles and two RBIs in 14 Grapefruit League games.
That appeared to be a continuation from the end of last season, when, over 13 games with Double-A Altoona — and, following an end-of-year promotion to Triple-A, six with the Indians — Cheng batted .302.
It was a nice way to end the campaign for Cheng, who struggled offensively at times in Altoona over 126 games played.
“We did have a lot of conversations with the Pirates, trying to fix my hitting mechanics and swing,” said Cheng, who batted .218 with 11 homers and 54 RBIs with the Curve in 2024. “It was really effective, so I just kept doing it.”
Over 402 career minor-league contests in the Pirates’ system, Cheng has hit .260 with 34 home runs, 194 RBIs, 334 strikeouts and 211 walks.
Based on what he’s heard from Pirates bench coach Donnie Kelly, Cheng expects to see action at either second base or shortstop, the two positions at which he’s most comfortable.
As he prepares to make his MLB debut, Cheng isn’t placing any undue pressure on himself.
“For now, I just want to enjoy baseball, enjoy playing baseball and try to keep improving every single day,” he said.