From the River Nile to the River Allegheny: Muhoozi Armstrong Begins His Baseball Journey to Pittsburgh

Jinja is a city 50 miles east of Kampala, Uganda's capital. It's where the River Nile begins its journey from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea. Over a million tourists flock there to bungee jump, white water raft, and inner tube down the famous river.

Pittsburgh Pirates scout Tom Gillespie didn't go to Jinja to see the Nile. He was there because of one of the 300,000 people that populate Jinja had caught his attention. He was sent a video of a 17-year-old baseball player named Muhoozi Armstrong, and after watching the tape, decided he had to take the trip to scout Muhoozi in person.

Then in January 2025, Muhoozi signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates with a signing bonus worth somewhere in the range of $40,000-$45,000. Unlike David Matoma, Muhoozi's compatriot in the Pirates organization, Muhoozi is a position player, flashing the leather at both second base and shortstop. He dazzles with his rocket arm (how could he not have an arm given his name?) and blazing speed.

Though Muhoozi's baseball journey starts at the source of the Nile, his river will not flow to the Mediterranean. His will flow from Jinja to the Dominican Republic, where he will join the Pirates Dominican Complex League facility. He will endeavor to make stops in Bradenton, Greensboro, Altoona, and Indianapolis before his river joins with the River Allegheny, dotted on its shore by the Pirates' PNC Park, where maybe, just maybe, one day a million people might flock to visit him, much like they flock to see his home of Jinja.