Giants' 2021 first-round draft pick Will Bednar couldn't have scripted his first official day as a member of the organization any better.
On the day Bednar, a right-handed starting pitcher out of Mississippi State, signed his first professional contract, the Pittsburgh Pirates just happened to arrive in San Francisco to begin a three-game series with the Giants.
Ordinarily, that might not seem significant, but for the Bednar family, it was a dream scenario.
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Bednar and his older brother David hail from Pittsburgh, Penn., and big bro just happens to pitch for the Pirates.
"It's so cool because kind of right after I got drafted, we looked at the schedule and they were saying the first home game is against the Pirates, so it's cool how the stars aligned there and everything worked out the way it did," the younger Bednar told reporters while sitting in the Giants' dugout before Friday's game.
When draft picks sign their first contracts, they typically get to pose for photos with family in the ballpark they hope to call home some day. But it's not often a player on the opposing team comes over to pose for photos in the dugout. But that's exactly what David did Friday.
While Will was the No. 14 overall pick in the 2021 draft, David was a 35th-round pick in 2016 by the San Diego Padres, and has worked exclusively as a reliever since getting drafted. This season, he has a 2.84 ERA in 42 appearances out of the bullpen for the Pirates.
"Me and him have completely different paths, where we were drafted," Will told reporters. "I know from him that it's a long road and it's gritty, but I'm ready for it, learning from him."
In another weird twist of fate, David made his MLB debut for the Padres against the Giants at Oracle Park on Sept. 1, 2019.
"A lot of stuff comes full-circle," Will said. "My brother's big league debut was here, and a lot of other stuff with the Giants. One of the first times he played when he got drafted was against [Single-A] Eugene [Emeralds]. And then you played in a college tournament in Richmond [Virginia] and I wore a Richmond Flying Squirrels hat [Giants' Double-A affiliate] for the longest time after he played in that. So really cool how a lot of the stuff comes full circle."
San Francisco Giants
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The younger Bednar brother is in San Francisco for the first time in his life, having arrived at 1 p.m. PT. He plans to go sightseeing Saturday and hopes to visit Alcatraz.
The Giants are hoping the Mississippi State product returns to San Francisco in a few years, ready to help them win a World Series.