Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates
2020 Pittsburgh Pirates season
Established in 1882
Team logo Cap insignia
Major league affiliations
National League (1887–present) Central Division (1994–present) East Division (1969–1993) American Association (1882–1886)
Current uniform
Retired numbers	1 4 8 9 11 20 21 33 40 42
Colors
Black, gold, white[1][2][3]
Name
Pittsburgh Pirates (1891–present) Pittsburgh Alleghenys (1887–1890) Allegheny (1882–1886)
Other nicknames
The Bucs, The Buccos, The Black and Gold
Ballpark
PNC Park (2001–present) Three Rivers Stadium (1970–2000) Forbes Field (1909–1970) Exposition Park III (1891–1909) Recreation Park (1884–1890) Exposition Park I, II (1882–1883)
Major league titles
World Series titles (5)	1909 1925 1960 1971 1979
NL Pennants (9)	1901 1902 1903 1909 1925 1927 1960 1971 1979
Central Division titles (0)	None
East Division titles (9)	1970 1971 1972 1974 1975 1979 1990 1991 1992
Wild card berths (3)	2013 2014 2015
Front office
Owner(s)	Robert Nutting
Manager	Derek Shelton
General Manager	Ben Cherington
President of Baseball Operations	Travis Williams

The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded in 1881 under the name Pittsburgh Allegheny, the franchise has won five World Series championships. The Pirates are also often referred to as the "Bucs" or the "Buccos" (derived from buccaneer, a synonym for pirate). The team plays its home games at PNC Park, its home since 2001. The Pirates previously played at Forbes Field from 1909–1970 and at Three Rivers Stadium, so named because of its location near the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers, from 1970–2000.

The franchise joined the NL in its eighth season in 1887 and was competitive from its early years, winning three NL titles from 1901 to 1903, playing in the inaugural World Series in 1903 and winning their first World Series in 1909 behind Honus Wagner. The Pirates have had many ups and downs during their long history, most famously winning the 1960 World Series against the New York Yankees on a series-winning walk-off home run by Bill Mazeroski, the only time that Game 7 of the World Series has ever ended with a home run. They also won the 1971 World Series, led by the talent of Roberto Clemente, and the 1979 World Series under the slogan "We Are Family", led by "Pops" Willie Stargell.

After a run of regular-season success in the early 1990s (winning three straight NL East Division titles), the Pirates struggled mightily over the following 20 years, with 20 consecutive losing seasons from 1993 to 2012—the longest such streak in American professional sports history^[4]—before posting a winning record in 2013 of 94–68, qualifying them for the NL Wild Card. They advanced to the NL Division Series round, where they lost in 5 games to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Pirates made the playoffs in both 2014 and 2015, losing in the Wild Card Game both times at home. The Pirates currently have the longest World Series appearance drought in Major League Baseball among any team with at least one appearance,^[5] their most recent showing being their victory in the 1979 World Series. From 1882 to 2019, the Pirates have an overall record of 10,545–10,405 (a .503 winning 'percentage').^[6]

Pittsburgh Pirates Intro articles: 58

Franchise history

Professional baseball in the Pittsburgh area began in 1876 with the organization of the Allegheny Base Ball Club, an independent (non-league) club based in a then-separate city called Allegheny City, across the Allegheny River from Pittsburgh. The team joined the minor league International Association in 1877, only to fold the following season.^[7] On October 15, 1881, Denny McKnight held a meeting at Pittsburgh's St. Clair Hotel to organize a new Allegheny club,^[8] which began play in 1882 as a founding member of the American Association. Chartered as the Allegheny Base Ball Club of Pittsburgh,^[9] the team was listed as "Allegheny" in the standings, and was sometimes called the "Alleghenys" (rarely the "Alleghenies") in that era's custom of referring to a team by its pluralized city or club name. After five mediocre seasons in the A.A., Pittsburgh became the first A.A. team to switch to the older National League in 1887. At the time, William A. Nimick was club president and Horace Phillips manager.^[10]

Before the 1890 season, nearly all of the Alleghenys' best players bolted to the Players' League's Pittsburgh Burghers. The Players' League collapsed after the season, and the players were allowed to go back to their old clubs. However, the Alleghenys also scooped up highly regarded second baseman Lou Bierbauer, who had previously played with the AA's Philadelphia Athletics. Although the Athletics had failed to include Bierbauer on their reserve list, they loudly protested the Alleghenys' move. In an official complaint, an AA official claimed the Alleghenys' signing of Bierbauer was "piratical".^[11] This incident (which is discussed at some length in The Beer and Whisky League, by David Nemec, 1994) quickly accelerated into a schism between the leagues that contributed to the demise of the A.A. Although the Alleghenys were never found guilty of wrongdoing, they made sport of being denounced for being "piratical" by renaming themselves "the Pirates" for the 1891 season.^[12] The nickname was first acknowledged on the team's uniforms in 1912.

The Pirates were a strong team in the early 1900s, winning National League pennants from 1901–1903 and taking their first World Series title in 1909. They again won the NL in 1925 and 1927 and the World Series in 1925. After a slow period, they returned to dominance and won the 1960 World Series, 1971 World Series and 1979 World Series. They won Eastern Division titles from 1990–1992 but did not return to the postseason again until 2013.

In 2013 the Pirates became the seventh MLB team to reach 10,000 all-time wins.^[13] On Opening Day 2015 the Pirates' loss was the team's 10,000th^[14] making the Pirates the fourth MLB team to achieve this distinction, following the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago Cubs.^[15] Later in 2015 they won their 10,000th game as a member of the National League. They entered the playoffs as a Wild Card team in 2013, 2014, and 2015, but lost in the NLDS once and lost the Wild Card game twice, and have not returned to the playoffs since 2015.

Pittsburgh Pirates Franchise history articles: 17

Rivalries

Philadelphia Phillies

The rivalry between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Pirates was considered by some to be one of the best rivalries in the National League.^[16][17][18] The rivalry started when the Pittsburgh Pirates entered the NL in 1887, four years after the Phillies.^[19]

The Phillies and the Pirates had remained together after the National League split into two divisions in 1969. During the period of two-division play (1969–1993), the two National League East division rivals won the two highest numbers of division championships, reigning almost exclusively as NL East champions in the 1970s and again in the early 1990s.^[18][20][21] the Pirates nine, the Phillies six; together, the two teams' 15 championships accounted for more than half of the 25 NL East championships during that span.^[20]

After the Pirates moved to the National League Central in 1994, the teams face each other only in two series each year and the rivalry has diminished.^[17][18] However, many fans, especially older ones, retain their dislike for the other team, with regional differences between Eastern and Western Pennsylvania still fueling the rivalry.^[22]

Within the Central Division

The Pirates have long-standing, albeit sometimes dormant, rivalries with their fellow NL Central Division teams, including the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers (with The Sausage incident and the 'You can steal first' game) and the Chicago Cubs (with the Homer in the Gloamin' and most recently, the 2015 NL Wild Card game). The intensity of the rivalries often depend upon the competitiveness of the teams involved during that season.

Interleague

The Pirates play an annual series against the Detroit Tigers. While the Pirates and Tigers only became "natural rivals" because the other AL and NL Central teams were already paired up, it has become popular with fans of both teams, possibly due to the rivalry between the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. The two teams have several other connections as well. The Tigers' AA Minor League affiliate, the Erie SeaWolves, located near Pittsburgh, is a former affiliate of the Pirates and has retained the logo of a wolf wearing a pirate bandanna and eye patch. Additionally, Jim Leyland, former manager of both the Pirates (1986–1996) and the Tigers (2005–2013), remains popular in Pittsburgh where he resides. The Pirates lead the regular season series, 36–29. The two teams played in the 1909 World Series.

An on-and-off rivalry with the Cleveland Indians stems from the close proximity of the two cities, and features some carryover elements from the longstanding rivalry in the National Football League between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers. Because the Indians' designated interleague rival is the Reds and the Pirates' designated rival is the Tigers, the teams have played periodically, with one three-game series per season from 1997–2001, 2003, 2006, 2009–12, 2015, and 2018. Since 2012, the Indians and Pirates play three or four games every three seasons when the AL Central plays the NL Central as part of the interleague play rotation. The Pirates lead the series 21–18. The teams will play six games in 2020 as MLB instituted an abbreviated schedule focusing on regional match-ups, and an additional three games in Pittsburgh in 2021.^[23]

Pittsburgh Pirates Rivalries articles: 15

Roster

Pittsburgh Pirates 2020 summer camp roster v t e
40-man roster				Player pool		Coaches/Other
Pitchers 43 Steven Brault 65 J. T. Brubaker 57 Nick Burdi 62 Blake Cederlind 30 Kyle Crick 45 Michael Feliz 32 Geoff Hartlieb 52 Clay Holmes 54 Sam Howard 35 Keone Kela 23 Mitch Keller 39 Chad Kuhl 59 Joe Musgrove 66 Dovydas Neverauskas 60 Cody Ponce 48 Richard Rodríguez 46 Chris Stratton 34 Trevor Williams		Catchers 14 Luke Maile 58 Jacob Stallings Infielders 55 Josh Bell 31 Will Craig 61 Oneil Cruz 26 Adam Frazier  2 Erik González 13 Ke'Bryan Hayes 19 Colin Moran 27 Kevin Newman 36 José Osuna 15 J. T. Riddle  3 Cole Tucker Outfielders  6 Jarrod Dyson  5 Guillermo Heredia 51 Jason Martin 25 Gregory Polanco 10 Bryan Reynolds		Pitchers 76 Cody Bolton * 63 Miguel Del Pozo * 72 Robbie Erlin * 49 Derek Holland * 90 Max Kranick * 74 James Marvel * 81 Nick Mears * 89 Braeden Ogle * 38 Yacksel Ríos * 87 Aaron Shortridge * 50 Jameson Taillon * 71 Nik Turley * Catchers 75 Christian Kelley * 18 John Ryan Murphy * 80 Andrew Susac * Infielders 72 Ji-hwan Bae * 74 Rodolfo Castro * 64 Phillip Evans * 91 Mason Martin * Outfielders 29 Socrates Brito * 76 Jared Oliva * 75 Travis Swaggerty *		Manager 17 Derek Shelton Coaches 86 Heberto Andrade (coaching assistant) 16 Tarrik Brock (first base) 89 Jordan Comadena (bullpen catcher) 28 Joey Cora (third base) 41 Rick Eckstein (hitting) 12 Don Kelly (bench) 47 Oscar Marin (pitching) 87 Justin Meccage (bullpen) 85 Mike Rabelo (assistant hitting) 53 Glenn Sherlock (coach) 45-day injured list 24 Chris Archer 44 Kevin Kramer Restricted list 67 Héctor Noesí * 37 Edgar Santana 73 Felipe Vázquez 28 active, 5 player pool 7- or 10-day injured list * Not on 40-man roster † Suspended list Roster, coaches, and NRIs updated February 13, 2020 Transactions • Depth Chart → All MLB rosters

Pittsburgh Pirates Roster articles: 67

Players

Baseball Hall of Fame

Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famers
Affiliation according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Pittsburgh Pirates Jake Beckley * Bert Blyleven Jim Bunning Max Carey * Jack Chesbro Fred Clarke * Roberto Clemente * Joe Cronin Kiki Cuyler Barney Dreyfuss * Frankie Frisch Pud Galvin Goose Gossage Hank Greenberg Burleigh Grimes Ned Hanlon Billy Herman Waite Hoyt Joe Kelley George Kelly Ralph Kiner * Chuck Klein Freddie Lindstrom Al López Connie Mack Heinie Manush Rabbit Maranville Bill Mazeroski * Bill McKechnie Hank O'Day Branch Rickey Billy Southworth Willie Stargell * Casey Stengel Pie Traynor * Dazzy Vance Arky Vaughan * Rube Waddell Honus Wagner * Lloyd Waner * Paul Waner * Deacon White Vic Willis Players and managers listed in bold are depicted on their Hall of Fame plaques wearing a Pirates or Alleghenys cap insignia. * Pittsburgh Pirates listed as primary team according to the Hall of Fame

Ford C. Frick Award recipients

Pittsburgh Pirates Ford C. Frick Award recipients
Affiliation according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Milo Hamilton Al Helfer Bob Prince Names in bold received the award based primarily on their work as broadcasters for the Pirates.

Team captains

• Dick Groat -1962
• Bill Mazeroski 1963–1972
• Willie Stargell 1973–1982
• Bill Madlock 1983

Pittsburgh Pirates Players articles: 42

Retired numbers

Along with the league-wide retired number of 42, there are nine retired Pirates jersey numbers to date. As of June 12, 2019, Bill Mazeroski is the lone survivor of the Pittsburgh Pirates whose numbers are retired.

Billy Meyer Mgr   Retired  1954 Ralph Kiner LF   Retired September 19, 1987 Willie Stargell LF, 1B Coach Retired September 6, 1982 Bill Mazeroski 2B Mgr Retired August 7, 1987 Paul Waner RF   Retired July 21, 2007 Pie Traynor 3B Mgr Retired April 18, 1972 Roberto Clemente RF   Retired April 6, 1973 Honus Wagner SS Mgr, Coach[a] Retired  1956 Danny Murtaugh 2B Coach, Mgr Retired April 7, 1977 Jackie Robinson[b] – All MLB Honored April 15, 1997

Franchise records

Win-loss records

• 100 Wins in a Season
  • 1902 (103–36), Fred Clarke
  • 1909 (110–42), Fred Clarke
• 100 Losses in a Season
  • 1890 (23–113), Guy Hecker
  • 1917 (51–103), Jim Callahan, Honus Wagner, and Hugo Bezdek
  • 1952 (41–113), Billy Meyer
  • 1953 (50–104), Fred Haney
  • 1954 (53–101), Fred Haney
  • 1985 (57–104), Chuck Tanner
  • 2001 (62–100), Lloyd McClendon
  • 2010 (57–105), John Russell

First-in-MLB accomplishments

• On May 8, 1886, the Pittsburgh Alleghenys turned the first 3–4–2 triple play in Major League history. In the fourth inning of a game, the Cincinnati Red Stockings put runners in first and second with no outs. John Reilly grounded out to first base, where Fred Carroll recorded the first out. He threw to second base, where Sam Barkley made the tag for the second out. The runner for second decided to try for home plate and he was cut down on a throw from Barkley and a tag by Doggie Miller. The Alleghenys won the game, 9–4.
• First ever Major League Baseball game broadcast on the radio, a game between the Pirates and the host Philadelphia Phillies aired August 5, 1921, on KDKA (AM) Pittsburgh. The Pirates won the game, 8–5.
• In 1925, the Pirates became the first MLB team to recover from a 3-games-to-1 deficit in winning a best-of-seven World Series; they then became the first MLB team to repeat that feat in 1979.^[24][25]
• During the 1953 season, the Pirates became the first team to permanently adopt batting helmets on both offense and defense. These helmets resembled a primitive fiberglass "miner's cap". This was the mandate of general manager Branch Rickey, who also owned stock in the company producing the helmets. Under Rickey's orders, all Pirate players had to wear the helmets both at bat and in the field. The helmets became a permanent feature for all Pirate hitters, but within a few weeks the team began to abandon their use of helmets in the field, partly because of their awkward and heavy feel. Once the Pirates discarded the helmets on defense, the trend disappeared from the game.^[26] In 2014, Major League Baseball allowed pitchers to choose to wear a padded hat that aims to combine the added safety of a helmet with the comfort of a baseball cap.^[27] The cap would prove widely unpopular, with only Alex Torres of the New York Mets choosing to wear it.^[28]
• First franchise to win a World Series on a home run (1960 World Series) in the 7th game. The only other team to meet this feat is the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993, though they accomplished it in game 6.
• In 1970 the Pirates became the first major league club to create their uniforms using a cotton-nylon blend featuring pull-over shirts and beltless pants.^[29]
• The first all-minority lineup in MLB history took the field on September 1, 1971.^[30] The lineup was Rennie Stennett, Gene Clines, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Manny Sanguillén, Dave Cash, Al Oliver, Jackie Hernández, and Dock Ellis.^[31]
• The first World Series night game was played in Three Rivers Stadium on October 13, 1971—eleven years to the day since Mazeroski's walk-off homer brought the Pirates their last World Series title in 1960. In this case, however, it was Game 4 between the Pirates and the Baltimore Orioles, rather than a decisive Game 7. Apparently, good things happen for the Pirates on this date, as they knotted the '71 Series at two games apiece on their way to their fourth title.
• The first MLB scout to win the "Scout of the Year Award", Howie Haak, in 1984, three additional scouts from the organization have subsequently won the award.
• The first combined extra inning no-hitter in MLB history took place at Three Rivers Stadium on July 12, 1997. Francisco Córdova (9 innings) and Ricardo Rincón (1 inning) combined to no-hit the Houston Astros, 3–0 in 10 innings. Pinch-hitter Mark Smith's three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning sealed the victory and the no-hitter for the Pirates. It remains the only such no-hitter to date.^[32]
• In November 2008, the Pirates became the first MLB team to sign Indian players when they acquired the non-draft free agents of Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel.^[33][34] This was also seen by Pirates general manager Neal Huntington, as "not only add[ing] two prospects to our system but also hope to open a pathway to an untapped market."^[35]
• The Pirates are the first team in professional sports to have 20 consecutive losing seasons. This streak lasted from 1993 to 2012. This is the longest such streak in North American professional sports history.
• The Pirates are the first MLB team (as well as only second in major professional sports) to be owned by an openly gay owner, although Kevin McClatchy had already divested his shares in the Pirates when he openly announced his homosexuality in September 2012.^[36][37]
• On April 6, 2015, the Pirates' loss to the Cincinnati Reds earned the team its 10,000 franchise loss and making the Pirates the first MLB team to reach their 10,000th loss on an Opening Day.^[14]
• On May 9, 2015, the Pirates became the first MLB team to turn a 4–5–4 triple play. The triple play occurred during a 7–5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. The play occurred when the Cardinals' Yadier Molina lined out to Pittsburgh second baseman Neil Walker. Walker then threw to third baseman Jung Ho Kang to double off the Cardinals' Jhonny Peralta for the second out. Kang then threw the ball back to Walker, who was standing on second base for the final out after St. Louis's Jason Heyward froze between second and third.^[38]
• On April 24, 2017 the Pirates fielded the first baseball player to be born and raised in Lithuania, to reach the major leagues, Dovydas Neverauskas. In 1933, Joe Zapustas was the first Lithuanian-born player to play in MLB, as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics, however he grew up in Boston.^[39]
• On April 26, 2017, the Pirates promoted South African Gift Ngoepe from the AAA Indianapolis Indians; making him the first African-born player in MLB history.^[40]
• On August 23, 2017, the Pirates became the first team in MLB history to break up a no-hitter in extra innings with a walk-off home run. The home run was hit by Josh Harrison in the tenth inning, off of pitcher Rich Hill, to give the Pirates a 1–0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.^[41]

Minor league affiliations

The Pittsburgh Pirates farm system consists of nine minor league affiliates.^[42]

Level	Team	League	Location	Years
Triple-A	Indianapolis Indians	International League	Indianapolis, Indiana	2005–present
Double-A	Altoona Curve	Eastern League	Altoona, Pennsylvania	1999–present
Class A-Advanced	Bradenton Marauders	Florida State League	Bradenton, Florida	2010–present
Class A	Greensboro Grasshoppers	South Atlantic League	Greensboro, North Carolina	2019–present
Class A Short Season	West Virginia Black Bears	New York–Penn League	Granville, West Virginia	2015–present
Rookie	Bristol Pirates	Appalachian League	Bristol, Virginia	2014–present
	GCL Pirates	Gulf Coast League	Bradenton, Florida	1968–present
	DSL Pirates 1	Dominican Summer League	Boca Chica, Santo Domingo	1990–present
	DSL Pirates 2			2018–present

Pittsburgh Pirates Franchise records articles: 32