Elk County's Joe Beimel Coming Back To Pirates

Reliever Beimel returns to Pirates
By Rob Biertempfel, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEWSaturday, January 29, 2011
A familiar face in a familiar place was enough to lure left-handed reliever Joe Beimel back to the Pirates.
Beimel on Friday signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. If he makes the big league club — a near certainty, given the Pirates' need for lefty bullpen help — Beimel will make $1.75 million with a chance at up to $300,000 more in incentives.
Beimel, 33, grew up in St. Mary's in Elk County, about a three-hour drive northeast of PNC Park. He was drafted by the Pirates in 1998 out of Duquesne and made his big league debut with them in 2001.
"It's nice to be coming back home," he said. "I grew up rooting for the Pirates, so if this is the year they turn it around, I want to be part of it. It would be really special for me and my family."
Read more: