Born a Pittsburgh Pirates Fan
Being from Pittsburgh, I was born a Pittsburgh Pirates fan. In addition to Abraham Lincoln, Roberto Clemente was my idol. I grew up on Clemente, Wille (Chicken on the Hill) Stargell, Steve Blass, Richie Hebner, Manny Sanguillen, Rennie Stennett, and Al Oliver. And, don’t forget the amazing manager, Danny Murtaugh. As a new baseball season approaches, I’d like to take a personal walk down memory lane and give my assessment of the current state of the club.
1971 World Series
The Pirates beat the Baltimore Orioles four games to three.
I lived 40 miles south of Pittsburgh and we had a television antenna, so I couldn’t watch it on television. But, I listened on my transistor radio. There’s something special about listening to baseball on the radio. The announcer was the famous Bob Prince. He was so enjoyable because he had all of these unique quotes. For example, when a foul ball was hit close to the foul line, he would say “out by a gnat’s eyelash.”
Clemente was the MVP of the series. He batted .414 in the series with two home runs, a triple and two doubles. Manny Sanguillen, the catcher, batted .379. Steve Blass, a pitcher, made a name for himself by throwing complete games to win game three and the all important game seven. Oddly, that was the climax of Blass’ career. He was never the same again.
A Legend Passes
I celebrated Clemente’s 3000th hit in September of 1972. I remember listening to that game on the radio in the kitchen. I had no idea it would be the last time I would hear his name on a baseball broadcast.
On New Years Day in 1973, I listened in horror at the report of his passing. My heart broke. But, in true Clemente fashion, he died in the most honorable way. My idol boarded a plane to deliver supplies to help earthquake victims in Nicaragua. This was typical Clemente. The plane crashed just moments after taking off from San Juan International Airport. The Coast Guard found no survivors.
The Cincinnati Reds had Pete Rose, also known as “Charlie Hustle.” The Pirates had Clemente. He played every game with passion. He ran as hard as he could to first base on ground balls. He embraced every moment he played and you could tell he loved the game.
I miss him every time I watch a baseball game. But, I was blessed to have him as a special part of my childhood. I’m a better man because of him.
We Are Family
I was able to watch the World Series on television in 1979. It was a special season. Because it was the disco era, the Pirates embraced the song “We Are Family” as an anthem and used it as momentum to get to the World Series. They were definitely a family, and could be seen dancing together to the song in the locker room.
Willie Stargell, known as “Pops”, led the Pirates to a 1979 World Series win over the Orioles. They won four games to three as in 1971. Willie was the elder statesman of the team. They had the ugliest uniforms that year. But, Pops handed out stars to his teammates when they did something to help the team. I was so taken with this that I used it when I coached soccer for my kids.
Spanky, Chico and the Disappearing MVP
After some mediocre years including an abysmal 57-104 season in 1985, the exciting Barry Bonds hit the scene in 1986 for the Pirates. He wasn’t the nicest guy, but he was a generational baseball talent. The Pirates surrounded Bonds with players like Mike (Spanky) LaValliere, Jose (Chico) Lind, Andy Van Slyke, Bobby Bonilla and Doug Drabek. And, they had a great manager in Jim Leyland.
Bonds won the National League MVP award in 1990 and 1992, and came in second in voting in 1991. As a result, the Pirates went to the playoffs in 1990, 1991 and 1992. They lost each year. In the playoffs, Barry Bonds batted .167 in 1990, .148 in 1991, and .261 in 1992.
Gaming was becoming increasingly popular during these years. So, I purchased a Nintendo Entertainment system and the Tecmo baseball game. In my little fantasy world, the Pirates rarely lost.
Pain and Suffering
And then came the most painful times to be a Pirates fan. For the next 20 years, they absolutely stunk. Year after year, they would not even be close to competitive. The management team destroyed their farm system and made one dumb trade after another. There were seasons where I paid very little attention or no attention at all. Especially, after the baseball strike of 1994-1995. I actually gave up on all of baseball after the strike and it lasted for several seasons.
But, I never gave up on the Pirates despite everything. I kept holding out hope and my son and I would enter every season thinking this might be the year. Usually by the end of April, we knew it was another lost year.
Along Comes Cutch
Andrew McCutchen hit his stride with the Pirates in 2007 and led them to the playoffs in 2013, 2014 and 2015. The management team didn’t take full advantage of his tenure with the Pirates and surround him with the talent to win a championship. But, he made me excited to be a Pirates fan again. Clemente wore uniform number 21 and McCutchen wore uniform number 22. That was significant to me because I believed McCutchen was a lot like Clemente. He played hard and he was a genuinely nice person.
I was devastated when McCutchen was traded to the San Francisco Giants in 2018. We went back to more painful times without him.
Rebuilding for a Better Tomorrow
In a wise move, Bob Nutting, the team owner, finally fired President Frank Coonelly, General Manager Neal Huntington and manager Clint Hurdle after a disastrous 69-93 season in 2019. In their places, they hired new President Travis Williams from the Pittsburgh Penguins, new General Manager Ben Cherington, formerly of the Boston Red Sox and new manager Derek Shelton from the Minnesota Twins.
The new management team adopted years of bad drafting, a totally depleted farm system due to horrendous trades, and years of poor player development. They suffered through a dismal 19-41 season in 2020. But, they are stockpiling young talent through trades of some veterans like Josh Bell, Jameson Taillon and Joe Musgrove.
I look forward to the 2021 season because I think it will provide a glimpse of the direction the club is heading. This is the second season with the new management team and I want to give them a chance to rebuild the team and the farm system. I’m excited about the young players being acquired. It may take a few more years, but I have a feeling we might have a contender again as the new young players mature.
Conclusion
The Pirates are a storied baseball franchise. Players like Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente, Paul Waner, Pie Traynor, Willie Stargell, Barry Bonds and Andrew McCutchen are icons. Regardless of the painful losing years in my lifetime, I just can’t turn my back on them or give up hope. When it is born into your blood and you got to watch Clemente, you can’t get rid of it.
I’ll close with a final story. When I was 9 years old, my dad took me to a Pirates game in Pittsburgh. The team was down 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning. Roberto came to the plate with runners on first and second. My dad turned to me and said “Let’s get a long single.” I tuned back to my dad and said “No. Let’s get a home run.” On the next pitch, Roberto hit a home run to end the game.
How can I ever turn my back on that? Go Bucs!
