Former Pirates pitcher Sean Black has signed with the New York Yankees.
He was the Yankees' seventh round pick, the 225th overall in Major League Baseball's June amateur draft, and has already reported to the franchise's Single-A team in Staten Island.
As a Pirate, Black had stellar numbers.
In his first year for the Hall, he threw 49.1 innings, struck out 53, and earned three victories.
Black only got better in his time as a Pirate. The next season, he pitched 65.1 innings, fanned 59, and tacked on three more wins.
The highlight of his second year at Seton Hall came in a start against Richmond. Black went the distance for a complete game, striking out 13 batters along the way, to earn recognition as the Big East Pitcher of the Week.
In 13 starts during his final year in South Orange, he won a career high four games, two of which were complete games, in 85.2 innings.
Black also posted a 3.99 ERA that season and struck out a career high 70 hitters.
Black's impressive play did not go unnoticed. He was named Big East Pitcher of the Week for the second time in his career, earned Big East/Big Ten All-Tournament Honors during the inter-conference competition last February, and won the Seton Hall Junior Male Athlete of the Year award.
Black was originally drafted by the Washington Nationals in the second round of the 2006 MLB Draft, but instead decided to stay in school.
Nick Parco can be reached at nicholas.parco@student.shu.edu.
