We Can Be Heroes: Jim Leyland, Don Kelly, Nyjer Morgan, Tony Plush and Tony Gumbo

Former Pirates in both leagues played pivotal roles advancing their teams to the World Series. Good for them!

Nyjer Morgan was the hero of the Brewers' NLCS walk-off win in Milwaukee Friday night. With teammate Carlos Gomez on at second in the bottom of the tenth, Morgan and his alter ego personalities Tony Plush and Tony Gumbo swatted a single up the middle to drive in the winning run to send the Brewers to the National League Championship Series (NLCS) vs. the St. Louis Cardinals.

Nyjer Morgan, or is it Tony Plush? Tony Gumbo?

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls hated to see the Pirates trade Morgan (to Washington in 2009, with Sean Burnett for Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan), and not just because Morgan was our favorite Pirate at the time -- and no doubt, the Pirates became much more boring and vanilla after he was traded, and the Brewers became much more interesting and fun after he joined them.

Morgan's antics overshadow the fact he is a good player. He provides leadership on the field and in the clubhouse. He's a catalyst. He brings energy and personality(ies) to his team. 

The dismissive, know-it-all Sabremetricians will snicker smugly and point knowingly to Morgan's baseball shortcomings, so we'll turn to the guys on the MLB Network panel after the game last night, who were saying things like:  "This guy's a good ballplayer, fundamentally sound." ..."What a difference Nyjer Morgan has made in Milwaukee." ..."He's always in the middle of the action." ... "A good hitter and a good defender." ..."You need unique people on a team." ..."He brings an energy to the team."

With his bubbly presence, Morgan was (and is) an exciting player and an effusive fan favorite. Oh, so you think "effusive fan favorite" doesn't matter to fans and even management in Milwaukee, or that it shouldn't matter in Pittsburgh? Here's how tone-deaf the Pirates' management is: Guess which player on the Brewers, who have not just one but two legitimate MVP candidates in Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, guess which player's shirt has the most sales in the Brewer's Clubhouse Store? Nyjer Morgan's. Pirates owner Bob Nutting must rue the lost nickels and dimes. 

Nyjer Morgan, the former hockey player, wasn't good enough for the Pirates, but now he's a beloved hero in Milwaukee. He's fun. Good for him.

Don Kelly: Home Run Hero. 

Don Kelly was deemed not good enough to stick as a utility player with the Pirates, but now he's a hero in Detroit. What a story for Kelly, who has overcome long odds with the dogged determination of a pit-terrier mix. Thursday night, he cemented his place in Detroit baseball lore by hitting the first-inning home run that silenced Yankee Stadium and seemed to guarantee the Tigers' ALDS victory.

Kelly, who played high school ball at Mt. Lebanon High School and in college for Point Park, is easy to root for. His is a really, really great feel-good story, not to be redundant.

Jim Leyland gave Kelly the chance Pirates wouldn't, and Kelly made Leyland look like a genius. The former Pirates manager once again displayed uncanny intuition Thursday night when he penciled Kelly's name into the line-up at third base and No. 2 in the batting order. Kelly validated Leyland's belief in him with that crucial home run that ESPN showed again and again and again.

Tammy Faye Baker

For a man who cries more than Tammy Faye Baker in her heyday, Leyland provided a remarkably steady hand at the helm of the Detroit Tigers this season. Still, after his Tigers dismissed the New York Yankees Thursday night, Leyland almost cried on national television when he talked about Don Kelly.

"He deserves to be in there," Leyland said. "You don't get sentimental at this time of year. He's been swinging the bat very well. He's got a lot of big hits. I think that's a guy that's a great story. Here's a guy that's the 25th guy on the team, I guess, but I wouldn't rather have another 25th guy. It's kind of a nice story. Good for Don Kelly."

Good for Don Kelly. Good for Jim Leyland. Good for Nyjer Morgan. Congratulations to all.