Chad Kuhl and Jameson Taillon have not been together in a rotation since the duo were mainstays as part of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitching plans during the 2018 campaign. However, while the duo may have gone their separate ways in terms of a franchise, they’re still closely connected as friends thanks to the power of technology and video games.
It’s hard not to tell the recent story of Pittsburgh Pirates pitching without mentioning Kuhl and Taillon, who both made the MLB debuts as part of the Pittsburgh rotation in June of 2016 (with Taillon appearing for the first time on June 8 and Kuhl’s debut coming on June 26). Kuhl appeared in 100 games for the Pirates while Taillon logged 115 appearances.
That was then, however. This is now, with Taillon as a part of the New York Yankees rotation and Kuhl in his first season as a part of the Colorado Rockies starting group.
Different teams and different leagues, sure, but the duo still remains close.
“One of my closest friends in the big leagues,” Taillon said of Kuhl.
“I try to watch all of his starts and I know he’s watching mine as well, so there’s still a really good friendship there,” Kuhl said of Taillon.
However, there’s only so much players can do to keep a friendship going with different teams, time zones, and schedules all clamoring for attention. But that’s where technology has come to the rescue for these two former teammates.
Through technology and gaming, former Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers Chad Kuhl and Jameson Taillon are keeping their friendship intact
Despite the hectic schedules, Kuhl said that a former Pirates pitcher group chat is still going strong and that’s one of the places where he and Taillon try to find time in both of their schedules to sit down, miles apart, and play Fortnite.
“It’s pretty easy to throw on a headset and connect,” Kuhl said. “It’s nice to just grab an hour or two and just talk and hang.”
So is it more about the game or the conversation?
“A little bit of both,” Kuhl said. “We’re always trying to keep up with each other any way we can and this (Fortnite) is just a super easy way to do it.”
Taillon agrees.
“We’ll text each other our schedules and find time,” he said. “OK, we have an off day on Thursday so that could work. We’ll look for a day game or a travel day. We’re just trying to find time.”
Taillon said it’s about the camaraderie that comes with not only being former teammates, but also growing up in an organization together and sharing the bond (and responsibility) of being a Major League pitcher.
“As a starter, we throw every fifth day, and there’s only five of us on a team. That means there are 150 of us around MLB with 30 teams and five guys, so there’s not a ton of us in the world,” Taillon explained. “All we have is each other and we all speak the same language. We all know what we’re going through.”
While Kuhl stopped short of calling himself a “gamer,” he did admit he plays quite a bit. However, for him, it’s about the competition and the friendship.
“For me, it’s about being on there with my buddies,” Kuhl said of his Fortnite moments. “I play with other guys as well. I play with Bob (Colorado reliever Robert Stephenson) a bunch. It’s about having a good time and interacting in different ways than just on the baseball field.
“We play a bunch in the offseason as well. It’s a nice way to get those competitive juices flowing while building up friendships as well.”
While now removed from the Pirates organization, both pitchers agree that the time they spent together at PNC Park was important.
“With Pittsburgh, we were young and we were trying to figure out how to be Major League Baseball players, so that was important for us to have each other,” Taillon said.
It’s also still important to both that they have each other, even if it’s playing video games miles apart.