An unforgettable experience on Cam Balego’s path to a dream job with the Pittsburgh Pirates was Paul Skenes drilling him in the face with a football.
It was August of 2024 and Balego, who’d become friendly with then-Pirates bench coach Don Kelly over the preceding years, was asked to catch a Skenes bullpen session in Pittsburgh.
Admitting to some nervousness in working with Skenes, then in the midst of a dominant rookie campaign, the football (tossing around a pigskin is a notable element of Skenes’ unique warmup routine) went right through Balego’s hands.
In the moment, Skenes didn’t hold it against him and even now, a year-and-a-half later, any potential lighthearted chirping of the mishap would do little to dim the daily excitement of Balego, who joined the Pirates organization in February as a bullpen catcher.
“Accepting the job, that’s always the first question people ask me: ‘What’s this mean to you?’ Truly, words don’t do justice,” said Balego, 30, a Greenfield native. “There’s no words or feelings I could possibly say. Opening Day in Pittsburgh, seeing the crowd, having my family there, I got emotional during the anthem. Teared up a little bit.
“It was a surreal thing of being a young kid and that always being your dream. Obviously, you want to do it as a player, but being able to do it in a different way, still put the colors on and represent your city, everything that Donnie talks about is what I feel.”
For Balego, the opportunity to put on a Pirates uniform every day did indeed manifest in an unforeseen way.
A Central Catholic graduate who played college baseball at Mercyhurst, Balego was chosen by the Chicago Cubs in the 30th round of the 2017 MLB Draft.
Balego then spent parts of five seasons in the Cubs organization, appearing in 232 minor-league games and advancing as high as Double-A.
After leaving the Cubs system, Balego kept his professional baseball aspirations alive, playing with the Washington Wild Things of the independent Frontier League and Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association from 2022-23.
When the call from Kelly came earlier this year, Balego had been working with local development guru and former LaRoche coach Chase Rowe, operator of Battleground Baseball Group in Callery.
Following Balego’s first few months with the Pirates, the elation hasn’t worn off.
“While I was playing, I always held Pittsburgh as a special place in my heart, so I can’t even describe what it means,” Balego said. “I wake up every morning smiling cheek to cheek. Falling asleep gets tough at times because I can’t grasp sometimes what I’m doing. It’s an unreal feeling every day. I’m blessed, I love when I do, and when I put the colors on, it’s unreal.”
After, “What’s this opportunity mean to you?” the No. 2 most frequently asked question Balego receives would probably be, “What exactly does a MLB bullpen catcher do?”
Officially, Balego and fellow Pirates bullpen catcher Raul Hernandez are coaching staff members, working with the club daily and traveling on all road swings.
During games, their primary task is self-explanatory — assisting relievers get warmed up in advance of their entrance into a game.
But the duties of Balego and Hernandez encompass far more than that.
“Bullpen catchers are essential for us and essential for our (rostered) catchers,” reliever Isaac Mattson said. “It’s instrumental to have those guys. Huge parts of our day over the course of getting prepped, Cam and Raul are out there playing catch with us before the game and then depending on who’s starting, they switch back and forth sometimes to help our starting catcher get those pitchers warmed up.
“Not only that, they’re also getting us ready as we get ready for the game. From the preparation standpoint, they’re in on a lot of the meetings that we’re in on. … When we’re trying to work on stuff, they’re the eyes behind home plate. Obviously, the metrics can tell us, but they’re the guys that are able to say, ‘Hey, that pitch was executed really well.’”
Balego joining the Pirates was particularly special for Mattson, as the two were teammates with the Wild Things in 2022 and even shared a room together on road trips.
When Balego was hired, Mattson was among the first to pass along congratulations.
Before, during and after games, Balego has plenty of duties to attend to. But being an asset for the Pirates’ relievers, regardless of what that might entail, is a key element of the gig.
“It’s just being present for pitchers,” Balego said. “Whatever they need, whatever that may be, if they need someone to talk to, if they need someone to catch — whatever that looks like, whether it’s catching bullpen, playing catch with them, giving them a shoulder to lean on or just a friend to talk to, whether that’s baseball or just life.
“I think it’s just being a friend and being there for them. That’s all I try to do for those guys. Just give them a shoulder to lean on. That’s the biggest thing.”
Pirates reliever Justin Lawrence doesn’t place an overwhelming amount of stock in his bullpen warmup sessions before taking the mound in a game.
There are times he can’t find the strike zone while warming up, only to pound the plate minutes later on the hill, and vice versa.
But some quiet confidence from the bullpen catcher can have an impact.
“When you’re warming up during a game and hitting your spots three or four pitches in a row, he’s hyping you up back there,” Lawrence said of Balego. “It’s awesome and a good confidence boost.”
Balego has also helped bring the hype in other ways.
Ensuring the Pirates bullpen could join in on the club-wide orange traffic cone celebrations following big hits, Balego procured one himself.
Following rookie Konnor Griffin’s first MLB hit and home run, Balego has been seen cheering with the dugout cone.
The bullpen's reaction to Konnor Griffin's first HR ????
CONE https://t.co/3ylfO7Ssdypic.twitter.com/85VHiWkLpI
— Platinum Key (@PlatinumKey13) April 26, 2026
It was so quiet before every one of Kyle Bradish's pitches during Konnor Griffin's first MLB at-bat you could have heard a pin drop at PNC Park.
Then the crowd erupted as the No. 1 prospect in baseball began his career with this RBI double, giving Pirates 1-0 lead over Orioles. pic.twitter.com/RAoWtvKqY3
— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) April 3, 2026
“He just gives off energy,” left-hander Mason Montgomery said. “He’s always happy to be here, just energy everywhere he goes. He’s here for us and he makes that clear. He enjoys every day and it helps us enjoy it, do.”
In bringing Balego aboard, Kelly wasn’t simply doing a friend a solid.
Conversations about the opportunity were followed by a formal interview process, after which Balego felt aligned with Kelly regarding what he’d bring to the role.
As Balego’s first season with the Pirates continues, Kelly has no regrets.
“He’s brought a smile to everybody’s face,” Kelly said. “He brings the energy — he’s unbelievable. Such a huge addition in that role. He’s somebody that’s willing to do whatever it takes to help the team.”