| Pittsburgh Pirates | |||||
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 2025 Pittsburgh Pirates season | |||||
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| Major league affiliations | |||||
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| Major league titles | |||||
| World Series titles(5) | |||||
| NLPennants(9) | |||||
| NL Central Division titles(0) | None | ||||
| NL East Division titles (9) | |||||
| Wild card berths(3) | |||||
| Front office | |||||
| Principal owner | Bob Nutting[4] | ||||
| President | Travis Williams | ||||
| General manager | Ben Cherington | ||||
| Manager | Don Kelly | ||||
| Mascot | Pirate Parrot | ||||
| Website | mlb.com/pirates | ||||
ThePittsburgh Pirates are an American professionalbaseball team based inPittsburgh. The Pirates compete inMajor League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of theNational League (NL)Central Division. Founded as part of theAmerican Association in 1881 under the name the Allegheny Base Ball Club of Pittsburgh, the club joined the National League in 1887 and was a member of theNational League East from 1969 through 1993. The Pirates have won fiveWorld Series championships, nineNational League pennants, nine National League East division titles and made three appearances in theWild Card Game.
The Pirates were among the best teams in baseball at the start of the 20th century, playing in theinaugural World Series in 1903 and winning their first title in1909 behindHonus Wagner. The Pirates took part in arguably the most famous World Series ending, winning the1960 World Series against theNew York Yankees on awalk-off home run byBill Mazeroski, the only time that Game 7 of the World Series has ever ended with a home run. They won again in1971 behindRoberto Clemente, the first Latin-American enshrined in theNational Baseball Hall of Fame, and in1979 under the leadership ofWillie Stargell.
Since their last World Series in 1979, the Pirates have largely endured a period of great struggle. Since then, they have only had eleven winning seasons, six postseason appearances, three division titles, and have advanced just once in the postseason with a victory in the 2013 National League Wild Card Game. The Pirates additionally posted a losing record in 20 consecutive seasons from1993 to2012, a record streak in both MLB and the four major North American professional sports leagues.[5]The Pirates currently have the fifth-longest World Series championship drought, the longest pennant drought in the National League,[6] and the longestLeague Championship Series appearance and division championship drought in all of baseball. From 1882 to 2025, the Pirates have an overall record of10,910–10,910–140 (.500 winning 'percentage').[7]
The Pirates are also often referred to as the "Bucs" or the "Buccos" (derived frombuccaneer, a synonym forpirate). Since 2001 the team has played its home games atPNC Park, a 39,000-seat stadium along theAllegheny River in Pittsburgh'sNorth Side. The Pirates previously played atForbes Field from 1909 to 1970 and atThree Rivers Stadium from 1970 to 2000. Since 1948 the Pirates' colors have been black, gold and white, derived from theflag of Pittsburgh and matching the other major professional sports teams in Pittsburgh, theSteelers and thePenguins.
Professional baseball in the Pittsburgh area began in 1876 with the organization of theAllegheny Base Ball Club, an independent (non-league) club based in a then-separate city calledAllegheny City, across theAllegheny River from Pittsburgh. The team joined the minor leagueInternational Association in 1877, only to fold the following season.[8] On October 15, 1881,Denny McKnight held a meeting at Pittsburgh's St. Clair Hotel to organize a new Allegheny club,[9] which began play in 1882 as a founding member of theAmerican Association. Chartered as the Allegheny Base Ball Club of Pittsburgh,[10] the team was listed as "Allegheny" in the standings, and was sometimes called the "Alleghenys" (occasionally the "Alleghenies" or “Allies”) in that era's custom of referring to a team by its pluralized city or club name. After five mostly mediocre seasons, Pittsburgh became the firstA.A. team to switch to the olderNational League in 1887.[11]
During the winter prior to the 1890 season, almost all of the Alleghenys' best players bolted to thePlayers' League'sPittsburgh Burghers. The Players' League collapsed after the season, and the players were allowed to go back to their old clubs. However, the Alleghenys also signed highly regarded second basemanLou Bierbauer, who had previously played with the A.A.'sPhiladelphia Athletics. Although the Athletics 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".[12] This incident 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, their allegedly "piratical" act gained them the occasional nickname "Pirates" from newspapers around the country, starting in 1891. Within a few years, the nickname caught on with even Pittsburgh newspapers.[13] The nickname was first acknowledged on the team's uniforms in 1912.
Early on, the Pirates organization finished no higher than 2nd in either league’s standings, but their fortunes began to change at the turn of the 20th century. The Pirates acquired several star players from theLouisville Colonels, who were slated for elimination when the N.L. contracted from 12 to 8 teams. (The franchises did not formally consolidate; the player acquisitions were separate transactions.)[14] Among those players wasHonus Wagner, who would become one of the first players inducted to theBaseball Hall of Fame. The Pirates were among the best teams in baseball in the early 1900s, winning three consecutive National League pennants from 1901 to 1903 and participating inthe first modern World Series ever played, which they lost toBoston. The Pirates returned to the World Series in1909, defeating theDetroit Tigers for their first-ever world title. That year, the Pirates moved fromExposition Park to one of the first steel and concrete ballparks,Forbes Field.
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As Wagner aged, the Pirates began to slip down the National League standings in the 1910s, culminating in a disastrous 51–103 record in 1917; however, veteran outfielderMax Carey and young playersPie Traynor andKiki Cuyler, along with a remarkably deep pitching staff, brought the Pirates back to relevance in the 1920s. The Pirates won their second title in1925, becoming the first team to come back from a 3–1 deficit in the World Series.[15] The Pirates returned to the World Series in1927 but were swept by theMurderer's RowYankees. The Pirates remained a competitive team through the 1930s but failed to win the pennant, coming closest in 1938 when they were passed by theChicago Cubs in thefinal week of the season.
Despite the prowess ofRalph Kiner as a slugger during the latter half of the stretch, the Pirates were mostly undistinguished in the 1940s, and downright awful in the early 1950s.Branch Rickey was brought in during this time to rebuild the team, which returned to the World Series in1960. They were largely outscored over the course of the series by theYankees, yet the Pirates won on a walk-off home run byBill Mazeroski in the bottom of the 9th inning in Game 7. As of 2024, it is the only Game 7 walk-off home run in World Series history.
Led by right fielderRoberto Clemente, the Pirates remained a strong team throughout the 1960s but did not return to the World Series until1971. Playing in the newThree Rivers Stadium, the Pirates defeated the favoredBaltimore Orioles behind Clemente's hitting and the pitching ofSteve Blass. In the same year on September 1, the Pirates became the first team to field an all-Black and Latino lineup.[16]Despite Clemente's death after the 1972 season, the Pirates were one of the dominant teams of the decade, winning the newly createdNational League East in1970,1971,1972,1974,1975, and1979. Powered by sluggers such asWillie Stargell,Dave Parker, andAl Oliver, the team was nicknamed "The Lumber Company." Behind Stargell's leadership and thedisco song"We Are Family" (which the team adopted as its theme song), the Pirates came back from a 3–1 deficit to once again defeat theOrioles in the1979 World Series for the franchise's fifth championship. During the 1979 championship season, a Pittsburgh player was designated as Most Valuable Player in every available category: All-Star Game MVP (Dave Parker), NLCS MVP (Willie Stargell), World Series MVP (Willie Stargell), and National League MVP (Willie Stargell, shared with Keith Hernandez of St. Louis).
The Pirates sank back into mediocrity in the 1980s and returned to post-season play in the early 1990s behind young players likeBarry Bonds,Bobby Bonilla, andDoug Drabek. The Pirates won three straight division titles from 1990 to 1992 but lost in theNational League Championship Series each time, notably coming within one out of advancing to the World Series in1992. Several of the team's best players, including Bonds and Drabek, left as free agents after that season.
With salaries rising across baseball, the small-market Pirates struggled to keep pace with the sport and they posted a losing record for 20 consecutive seasons, a record among North American professional sports teams. Even the opening of a new stadium in 2001,PNC Park, did little to change the team's fortunes. The Pirates finally returned to the postseason in2013 behind National League MVPAndrew McCutchen, defeating theCincinnati Reds in theWild Card Game. They were eliminated in five games in thenext round by theSt. Louis Cardinals. That season, the Pirates also became the seventh MLB team to reach 10,000 all-time wins.[17] OnOpening Day 2015 the Pirates' loss was the team's 10,000th[18] making the Pirates the fourth MLB team to achieve this distinction, following thePhiladelphia Phillies,Atlanta Braves, and the Chicago Cubs.[19] The Pirates returned to the postseason in 2014 and 2015 and lost the Wild Card game both times and have not qualified for the playoffs since then.
Since 2001, the Pirates have played their home games atPNC Park, located on the banks of theAllegheny River in Pittsburgh's North Side neighborhood. The park was built as a replacement for the agingThree Rivers Stadium, a dual-purpose stadium that had been designed for functionality rather than aesthetics.[20] Funded mainly through taxpayer money, the ballpark cost $216 million to construct and is named for Pittsburgh-basedPNC Financial Services.[21] PNC Park's listed capacity is 38,747 for baseball, although standing-room only space can accommodate more than 40,000 fans; the biggest crowd in stadium history was the2015 National League Wild Card Game, when 40,889 fans saw the Cubs defeat the Pirates 4–0.
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Widely considered to be among the best baseball stadiums in the country, several outlets have praised PNC Park for its location, limestone and steel façade, and views of both the action on the field and the Pittsburgh skyline.[22][23][24][25] PNC Park was the first two-deck ballpark to be built in the United States since Milwaukee County Stadium opened in 1953;[26] as a result, fans in the upper deck are closer to the action than at most ballparks, with the highest seat in the stadium 88 feet (27 m) above the playing surface. Fans in the lower deck are also closer to the field: the batter is closer to the seats behind home plate than to the pitcher,[27] and seating along the baselines is 45 feet from the bases at their closest point. A four-level steel rotunda down the left field line offers extensive standing room only space, and action on the field can be seen from the first-level concourse. PNC Park has a reputation as a pitcher's park, with a deep left field that juts out to more than 410 feet from home plate. Right field is closer, but the wall is 21 feet high, nicknamed the Clemente Wall after former right-fielderRoberto Clemente, who wore number 21. Statutes of Clemente,Willie Stargell,Bill Mazeroski andHonus Wagner are located at several entrances to the stadium. In addition to hosting Pirate games, PNC Park hosted the2006 MLB All-Star Game and has been the site of several concerts.
PNC Park is located near several major highways and parking is available in the blocks around the ballpark. Fans can also walk to the stadium fromdowntown Pittsburgh via theClemente Bridge, or takePittsburgh Light Rail to the system'sNorth Side station, located just outside the stadium's home plate entrance.
The Pirates' first home wasExposition Park, located a couple blocks west of the current location of PNC Park. The Pirates split their early years between that ballpark andRecreation Park, which was located further inland from the flood-prone Allegheny River. The Pirates moved back to Exposition Park for good in 1891, and remained there until the middle of the 1909 season.[28] The park hosted thefirst modern World Series ever played in 1903, but by the end of the decade the wooden structure was too small for the Pirates' growing fanbase. Exposition Park hosted several minor league teams before being razed prior to 1920.[29] The site, currently occupied by a parking lot and several restaurants, is marked by a state historical marker (near the intersection of West Gen. Robinson Street and Tony Dorsett Drive) and a sunken home plate marker made of steel (a few paces away, in the parking lot) , both noting the 1903 World Series.
In the middle of the 1909 season, the Pirates moved intoForbes Field inOakland, which would serve as the club's home for the next 61 years. Built at a cost of $1 million, the park was the first three-tiered steel-and-concrete ballpark in the nation.[30] Forbes Field was expanded several times over the decades, with capacity almost doubled from its initial 23,000 in 1909 to 41,000 in 1925 (although it was reduced to 35,000 in its later years). Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss "hated cheaphome runs and vowed he'd have none in his park", which led him to design a large playing field for Forbes Field.[31] When a large grandstand was constructed down the right field line in the early 1920s, reducing the distance to 300 feet from home plate, Dreyfuss had a 28-foot screen erected.[32][33][34] Despite this, Forbes Field is remembered for several famous home runs: the final three homers ofBabe Ruth's career on May 25, 1935[35] and Bill Mazeroski's championship-winning blast in Game 7 of the1960 World Series. The park also hostedfootball games for thePittsburgh Steelers andUniversity of Pittsburgh"Pitt" Panthers. Located in a sparsely populated area of the city when it opened in 1909, by the 1960s Forbes Field was surrounded by the University of Pittsburgh campus. The Pirates left the ballpark midway through the 1970 season and the stadium was demolished the following year. Sections of the outfield wall remain standing along Roberto Clemente Drive, and the home plate used in the stadium's final game remains preserved in the University of Pittsburgh'sPosvar Hall.[36][37]
The Pirates moved into the multipurposeThree Rivers Stadium in 1970, which they shared with the Steelers. Like othermulti-purpose stadiums popular at the time, Three Rivers featured extensive box seats, a turf playing field, and moveable seating sections to accommodate both football and baseball. Three Rivers ended up being much better suited for the former than the latter, and the Pirates struggled to draw fans despite their on-field success in the 1970s. By the 1990s, the Pirates were threatening to leave Pittsburgh unless a new, baseball-only stadium was constructed. The Pirates played their final game at Three Rivers on October 1, 2000, and the stadium was demolished the following winter. The site is currently occupied by parking lots andStage AE, although one of the stadium's entrance markers remains standing nearAcrisure Stadium. In 2012, members of theSociety for American Baseball Research marked and painted thehome plate and first base of the former stadium on the 40th Anniversary of Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit.[38] Since then, markers have been placed at the locations of home plate, second base, and the pitcher’s plate.
Since 1969, the Pirates have heldSpring Training atLECOM Park inBradenton, Florida, which is also used for the Pirates' minor league team, theBradenton Marauders. Constructed in 1923, LECOM Park is the oldest stadium still in use for Spring Training and the second-oldest minor league park, behind onlyJackie Robinson Ballpark inDaytona Beach, which dates to 1914.[39] It is also the third oldest stadium currently used by a major league team afterFenway Park, built in 1912, andWrigley Field, built in 1914.[40] Built in a Florida Spanish Mission style, LECOM Park underwent two major renovations in 1993 and 2008, the latter of which added lights.[41] The park was formerly named "McKechnie Field," for Bradenton resident and Baseball Hall of Fame greatBill McKechnie, who led the Pirates in1925; since 2017 it has been named for theLake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, which has its main campus inErie, Pennsylvania, and also a campus in Bradenton.[42]Pirate City, the site of the Pirates' Spring Training complex, is located a few miles east of LECOM Park.
The Pirates have had many uniforms and logo changes over the years, with the only consistency being the "P" on the team's cap. Like other teams in Major League Baseball, the Pirates predominantly favored a patriotic red, white and blue color scheme through the first half of the 20th Century.[43] During this time, the Pirates predominantly wore a blue cap, with either a red or white P. The uniforms were plain, often including a simple "P" if anything at all. The team's name was first acknowledged in 1912, with a pinstripe jersey that had "Pirates" running vertically down the placket.[43] The team's name would not appear on the club's uniforms again until they were added to the road uniforms in 1933, this time written horizontally in a more ornate style. An image of a pirate's head appeared on the home and road jerseys for the 1940 and 1941 seasons (this image would be reused for the team's logo in the 1980s and 1990s), and "Pittsburgh" first appeared on the road uniforms in 1942.[43]
In 1948, the team broke away from the patriotic "Red, White, & Blue" color scheme when they adopted the current black & gold color scheme, to match that of the colors of theFlag of Pittsburgh and, to a lesser extent at the time, the colors of the then-relatively unknownPittsburgh Steelers of theNational Football League. The Pirates had made a similar change to black and gold in 1924,[44][45][46] but the change did not last beyond that season.[47][48] Along with theSan Francisco Giants, the Pirates are one of two pre-expansionNational League teams that completely changed their colors, although red returned as an "accent color" in 1997 and remained until 2009.
In the late 1950s, the team adopted sleeveless jerseys. While not an innovation by the team (the honor goes to theCincinnati Reds), the Pirates helped popularize the look. Coinciding with the move intoThree Rivers Stadium in 1970, the team switched to a darker shade of gold and changed their caps from black to gold with a black brim; they also introduced pullover nylon/cotton jerseys and beltless pants as part of their new uniform set (later to become polyester doubleknit).[43] The Pirates became the first team in baseball to sport such a look, but it quickly became popular throughout the league, and the pullover style would become the prominent look of 1970s and 1980s baseball. The Pirates ditched the pullover style in favor of the traditional button-down style in 1991, one of the last teams to switch.
In 1976, the National League celebrated its 100th anniversary. To coincide with it, certain NL teams wore old-style pillbox hats complete with horizontalpinstripes. After the season, the Pirates were the only team to adopt the hats permanently, alternating between a black hat and a gold hat for several seasons.[43] The Pirates switched back to a brighter shade of gold for the 1977 season, and became one of the first teams to wearthird jerseys, following theOakland Athletics. Starting in1977, the Pirates had uniform styles which included two different caps and three different uniforms: an all-black set, an all-gold set, and a white set with black-and-gold pinstripes. The pants, tops and caps could all be worn interchangeably for different looks; the Pirates wore four different uniform combinations in the1979 World Series. The pinstripes came off the white uniforms in 1980, but the Pirates continued to utilize the three uniform set until the 1985 season, when the team returned to the straightforward home whites/road grays combination. The solid black cap with a gold "P" returned in 1987 and has been the team's primary cap ever since.[43]
AfterKevin McClatchy purchased the team in 1996, the Pirates added a third jersey and utilized red as an accent color, including red brims on the team's caps. A sleeveless white jersey with pinstripes was worn as an alternate home jersey from 2005 to 2010, and a red alternate jersey was added for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. In2009, the Pirates began wearing an alternate black jersey with a gold "P" at both home and on the road.[43] From 2013 to 2019, the Pirates wore throwback uniforms for Sunday home games: the early 70s pullover uniforms from 2013 to 2015, and the gold top/black pants from the late 70s from 2016 to 2019.[49]
Since the2015 season, the Pirates have worn an alternate camo jersey for select home games.[50] The camouflage alternates were updated for the2018 season, now white with camo green wordmarks, numbers, piping, and patches.[51]
Ahead of the2020 season, the Pirates revived the script "Pittsburgh" wordmarks on their gray road and new black alternate road jerseys, which were unveiled on January 24, 2020. Script wordmarks had previously been seen on the road jerseys from 1990 until 2000. The alternate road jersey also features a Pirate wearing a re-colored bandana, yellow to match the theme of the jersey, and is worn with a black cap featuring the "P" logo outlined in black and yellow.[52] In addition to these road uniforms, the Pirates continue to wear their white uniforms, the black alternate with the gold "P", and the camo alternate for games played at PNC Park.
In 2023, the Pirates retired the camo home alternate to comply with the new "4+1" rule, restricting teams to a home, away, two alternate uniforms and aCity Connect uniform. The Pirates continued to wear the camo cap on occasion with the home white uniform. They also unveiled their City Connect uniform, featuring a gold top and black pants with a gold "P" cap with black brim. The jersey itself features the abbreviation of Pittsburgh "PGH". A closer look of the jersey feature the Three Elements. The inverted "Y", representing the three rivers that meet in Pittsburgh (Allegheny,Monongahela, andOhio). The astroid, or the diamond shape star represents the famous "Steelmark" logo and the Check or the Checkbox, represents the Seal of Pittsburgh.[53]
The rivalry between thePhiladelphia Phillies and the Pirates was considered by some to be one of the best rivalries in the National League until 1994.[54][55][56] It began when the Pittsburgh Pirates entered the NL in 1887, four years after the Phillies.[57]
The Phillies and the Pirates remained together after the National League split into two divisions in 1969. During the period of two-division play (1969–1993), the twoNational 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.[56][58][59] 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.[58]
After the Pirates moved to theNational League Central in 1994, the teams face each other only in two series each year and the rivalry has diminished.[55][56] However, many fans, especially older ones, retain their dislike for the other team, with regional differences betweenEastern andWestern Pennsylvania still fueling the rivalry.[60]
The Pirates' biggest divisional rival is theCincinnati Reds, given the two teams' proximity, the carryover of the cities'football rivalry, and the fact that the Reds and Pirates have met six times in the postseason,[61] most recently in the2013 National League Wild Card Game. In the 2010s, the two teams frequentlyhit each other with pitches, occasionally resulting in brawls.[62]
From 2013 to 2015, the Pirates battled with theSt. Louis Cardinals for the Central Division title, with the Cardinals narrowly winning the division each year. The two teams faced off in the2013 National League Division Series, which the Cardinals won in five games. The Pirates had a contentious[63] battle with theMilwaukee Brewers for a Wild Card spot in 2014 and faced off against theChicago Cubs in the2015 National League Wild Card Game. The Cubs were major rivals for the Pirates earlier in their history, as both were among the best teams in baseball in the early 1900s and the Cubs eliminated the Pirates from the pennant race in the last week ofthe 1938 season.
The Pirates play an annualinterleague series against theDetroit 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 theNational Hockey League'sDetroit Red Wings andPittsburgh Penguins. The two teams have several other connections as well. The Tigers' AA Minor League affiliate, theErie 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 led the regular-season series, 36–29. The two teams played in the1909 World Series.
An on-and-off rivalry with theCleveland Guardians stems from the close proximity of both cities, and features some carryover elements from thelongstanding rivalry in theNational Football League between theCleveland Browns andPittsburgh Steelers. Because the Guardians' designated interleague rival is the Reds and the Pirates' designated rival is the Tigers, the teams have only played periodically. The teams played one three-game series each year from 1997 to 2001 and periodically between 2002 and 2022, generally only in years in which the AL Central played the NL Central in the former interleague play rotation. The teams played six games in 2020 as MLB instituted an abbreviated schedule focusing on regional match-ups. Beginning in 2023, the teams will play a three-game series each season as a result of the new "balanced" schedule. The Pirates lead the series 21–19.[64]
| 40-man roster | Non-roster invitees | Coaches / other | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitchers
| Catchers Infielders
Outfielders
Designated hitters | Manager Coaches
60-day injured list 40 active, 0 inactive, 0 non-roster invitees
| ||||
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.
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| Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Affiliation according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Pittsburgh PiratesFord C. Frick Award recipients | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affiliation according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum | |||||||||
|
In 2022, the Pirates formally established a team Hall of Fame to honor the "most influential ballplayers in Pittsburgh baseball history", as picked by an internal committee that had the help of team historian Jim Trdinich.[65][66] 19 individuals were part of the first class, which included every Pittsburgh Pirate inducted into theNational Baseball Hall of Fame along with several other former players, broadcasters, and coaches. Like the Washington Nationals with theRing of Honor, the Pirates inducted players that had played for theNegro league baseball teamHomestead Grays, which had played inForbes Field andGreenlee Field in Pittsburgh alongside their time in Washington; two of the first class also spent time with thePittsburgh Crawfords, with a ceremony dedicated to "signing" the four to Pirates contracts. All inductees were honored with a plaque displayed in the concourse by the entrance with the statue ofRoberto Clemente.[67][68]
| Bold | Member of theBaseball Hall of Fame |
|---|---|
† | Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Pirate |
| Bold | Recipient of the Hall of Fame'sFord C. Frick Award |
| Bold | Member of theHomestead Grays /Pittsburgh Crawfords |
| Pirates Hall of Fame | ||||
| Year | No. | Player | Position | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 9 | Bill Mazeroski† | 2B | 1956–1972 |
| 21 | Roberto Clemente† | RF | 1955–1972 | |
| 33 | Honus Wagner† | SS Manager Coach | 1900–1917 1917 1933–1951 | |
| 8 | Willie Stargell† | LF 1B | 1962–1982 | |
| 21,3,5 | Arky Vaughan† | SS | 1932–1941 | |
| 4 | Ralph Kiner† | LF | 1946–1953 | |
| 20 | Pie Traynor† | 3B Manager | 1920–1935, 1937 1934–1939 | |
| Max Carey† | Outfielder | 1910–1926 | ||
| Jake Beckley† | 1B | 1888–1889, 1891–1896 | ||
| Fred Clarke† | Outfielder Manager | 1900–1911, 1913–1915 1900–1915 | ||
| 11, 9 | Paul Waner† | RF | 1926–1940 | |
| Lloyd Waner† | CF | 1927–1941, 1944–45 | ||
| 28 | Steve Blass | P Broadcaster | 1964, 1966–1974 1983-2019 | |
| 39 | Dave Parker† | RF | 1973–1983 | |
| 40 | Danny Murtaugh | 2B Coach Manager | 1948–1951 1956–1957 1957–1964, 1967, 1970–1971, 1973–1976 | |
| - | Josh Gibson | C | 1933–1936 1937–1946 | |
| - | Oscar Charleston | CF / Manager | 1930–1938 | |
| - | Ray Brown | P | 1932–1945, 1947–1948 | |
| - | Buck Leonard | 1B | 1934–1950 | |
| 2023 | 26 | Roy Face | P | 1953, 1955–1968 |
| 19 | Bob Friend | P | 1951–1965 | |
| 24 | Dick Groat | SS | 1952, 1955–1962 | |
| 27 | Kent Tekulve | P | 1974–1985 | |
| 2024 | 24 | Barry Bonds | LF | 1986–1992 |
| 10 | Jim Leyland† | Manager | 1986–1996 | |
| 35 | Manny Sanguillén | C | 1967, 1969–1976, 1978–1980 | |
| 2025 | Kiki Cuyler | RF | 1921–1927 | |
| 20, 32 | Vern Law | P | 1950–1951, 1954–1967 | |
| 29, 16 | Al Oliver | OF | 1968–1977 | |
| Career batting records | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statistic | Player | Record | Pirates career | Ref |
| Batting average | Jake Stenzel | .360 | 1892–1896 | [69] |
| On-base percentage | Jake Stenzel | .429 | 1892–1896 | [69] |
| Slugging percentage | Brian Giles | .591 | 1999–2003 | [70] |
| On-base plus slugging | Brian Giles | 1.018 | 1999–2003 | [70] |
| Runs | Honus Wagner | 1,521 | 1900–1917 | [71] |
| Plate appearances | Honus Wagner | 10,220 | 1900–1917 | [71] |
| At bats | Roberto Clemente | 9,454 | 1955–1972 | [72] |
| Hits | Roberto Clemente | 3,000 | 1955–1972 | [72] |
| Total bases | Roberto Clemente | 4,492 | 1955–1972 | [72] |
| Singles | Roberto Clemente | 2,154 | 1955–1972 | [72] |
| Doubles | Paul Waner | 558 | 1926–1940 | [73] |
| Triples | Honus Wagner | 232 | 1900–1917 | [71] |
| Home runs | Willie Stargell | 475 | 1962–1982 | [74] |
| RBI | Willie Stargell | 1,540 | 1962–1982 | [74] |
| Walks | Willie Stargell | 937 | 1962–1982 | [74] |
| Strikeouts | Willie Stargell | 1,936 | 1962–1982 | [74] |
| Stolen bases | Max Carey | 688 | 1910–1926 | [75] |
| Games played | Roberto Clemente | 2,433 | 1955–1972 | [72] |
| Career pitching records | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statistic | Player | Record | Pirates career | Ref(s) |
| Wins | Wilbur Cooper | 202 | 1912–1924 | [76] |
| Losses | Bob Friend | 218 | 1951–1965 | [77] |
| Win–loss percentage | Ed Doheny | .731 | 1901–1903 | [78] |
| Earned run average[a] | Vic Willis | 2.08 | 1906–1910 | [79] |
| Saves | Roy Face | 188 | 1953–1968 | [80] |
| Strikeouts | Bob Friend | 1,682 | 1951–1965 | [77] |
| Shutouts | Babe Adams | 44 | 1907–1926 | [81] |
| Games | Roy Face | 802 | 1953–1968 | [80] |
| Innings pitched | Bob Friend | 3,480+1⁄3 | 1951–1965 | [77] |
| Games started | Bob Friend | 477 | 1951–1965 | [77] |
| Games finished | Roy Face | 547 | 1953–1968 | [80] |
| Complete games | Wilbur Cooper | 263 | 1912–1924 | [76] |
| Walks | Bob Friend | 869 | 1951–1965 | [77] |
| Hits allowed | Bob Friend | 3,610 | 1951–1965 | [77] |
| Wild pitches | Bob Veale | 90 | 1962–1972 | [82] |
| Hit batsmen | Wilbur Cooper | 93 | 1912–1924 | [76] |
The Pittsburgh Piratesfarm system consists of sevenminor league affiliates.[103]
Throughout the 1940s Pirates ownerWilliam Benswanger was a leading advocate of integration of the Major Leagues, once planning a tryout for African American players to sign up for the club.[104]
The Pirates organization was the first in baseball to have both an African-American coach and manager, whenGene Baker broke the color line in 1961 and 1962 respectively. On September 21, 1963, the Pirates were the first MLB team to have an African-American manager in Gene Baker, as he filled in for Danny Murtaugh.[105]
On September 1, 1971, manager Murtaugh assembled a starting lineup that was completely composed of minority players for the first time in MLB history.[106]
Even though they have had some notable fans including former part-ownerBing Crosby,Michael Keaton, andRegis Philbin,[107] the Pirates are considered by most to be a distant third in Pittsburgh behind thePittsburgh Steelers andPittsburgh Penguins in popularity among Pittsburgh's threemajor professional sports teams.[108] However, due to their long history in Pittsburgh dating back to the 1882 season, the team has retained a strong loyal following in the Pittsburgh region, especially among older residents. Upon the team ending their 20-season losing season streak with a winning season in2013, the fan support for the club has grown once again but still remaining a distant third behind the city's other 2 more successful franchises in the last half-century.
While the team's recent struggles compared to Pittsburgh's other two teams can be partly to blame (since the Pirates last World Series championship in 1979, the Steelers have won theSuper Bowl three times (XIV,XL, andXLIII) and the Penguins theStanley Cup five times in1991,1992,2009,2016, and2017, including both in 2009), distractions off the field have also caused the team's popularity to slip in the city. While the team was ranked first in Pittsburgh as recent as the late 1970s,[109] thePittsburgh drug trials in 1985 and two relocation threats since are believed to have also seen the team's popularity dipped.[110] The team's standing among fans has, however, improved along with the team on the field and the opening ofPNC Park in 2001.[111] Following theAndrew McCutchen trade in 2018, fan relations have deteriorated despite the Pirates contending for the NL Central during 2018 due to backlash towards ownerRobert Nutting, with the team ranking 27th among 30 MLB team in attendance that season.[112]
When the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009 captainSidney Crosby brought the cup to PNC Park on the Sunday following the team's victory inDetroit. When they won again in 2017 the cup was once again brought to PNC Park and the team threw out the first pitch. The team won the cup in 1992 and they held a celebration in the Pirates' old homeThree Rivers Stadium.
Each year, the Pirates recognize six "Community Champions" during a special pregame ceremony.[113]
Piratefest is a yearly event that is held by the Pittsburgh Pirates in January. The event is, in essence, a baseball carnival for the whole family. It features autograph sessions from current and former Pirates players and coaches, live events and games, carnival booths, baseball clinics, "Ask Pirates Management", and appearances by thePirate Parrot. Piratefest was once held at theDavid L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh[114] but is now held annually at the ballpark.
The Pirates broadcast the first ever baseball game over the radio on August 5, 1921.Harold Arlin, a foreman atWestinghouse, announced the game overKDKA from a box seat next to the first basedugout atForbes Field.[115][116] KDKA had received its broadcasting license only nine months before, becoming the first commercially licensed radio station in the world. Pirate games would be sporadically broadcast over the radio for the next decade; regular broadcasts began in the mid-1930s, withRosey Rowswell becoming the voice of the Pirates in 1936.[117] Except for a few years onWWSW in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Pirates were on KDKA for 61 years. KDKA's 50,000-wattclear channel enabled Pirates fans across the eastern half of North America at night to hear the games.
In 2007, the Pirates chose to end the longest relationship between a team and a radio station in American professional sports and moved to FMtalk radio stationWPGB. The Pirates cited the desire to reach more people in the 25–54 age bracket coveted by advertisers. The acquisition of the rights means thatClear Channel Communications holds the rights to every major sports team in Pittsburgh. The Pirates have long had a radio network that has extended across four states. Stations for the 2007 season included Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and Maryland radio broadcasters.[118]
On October 1, 2011, Clear Channel announced that they would not renew their deal with the Pirates, and the team shortly thereafter announced a deal to transfer back toCBS Radio via FMsports radio stationKDKA-FM,[119] which became official on October 12.[120]On March 2, 2016, it was announced a new deal was reached for the Pirates to remain on KDKA-FM.[121] As part of the deal, KDKA-AM has returned as essentially the AM flagship of the team, simulcasting all weekday afternoon games, select other broadcasts, and serving as the backup station for any games that KDKA-FM can not air due to conflicts withPittsburgh Panthers football and men's basketball.[122]
Games are televised onSportsNet Pittsburgh, the Pirates' cable television outlet since 1986, when it was known as KBL. The network is majority owned byFenway Sports Group, owners of theBoston Red Sox andPittsburgh Penguins. The Pirates became joint owners of the channel on December 16, 2023, with operations to be produced by the Red Sox's home networkNESN.[123] During the 2016 season, the Pirates averaged a 7.22 rating and 83,000 viewers on primetime TV broadcasts.[124] Apart from any Pirates games aired nationally on Fox, there has been no over-the-air coverage of the Pirates since 2002. Previously,KDKA-TV aired Pirates games for 38 years (1957–1994). Games also aired onWPXI (1995–1996) and onWPGH-TV and WCWB (1997–2002).
Current
The Pirates have no set broadcast team for radio or TV; instead, all announcers and analysts take turns working in both mediums over the course of a season. The longest-tenured broadcasters are play-by-play announcerGreg Brown and analystBob Walk, both of whom joined the broadcast booth in 1994. Former Pirate and Pittsburgh nativeJohn Wehner joined the crew in 2005 as an analyst,[125] whileJoe Block became the team's second play-by-play announcer in 2016 after previously working for theMilwaukee Brewers.[126] Former Pirate players who have recently filled in as analysts includeMatt Capps,Kevin Young, andNeil Walker.
Past
Westinghouse Electric foremanHarold Arlin called the first-ever radio broadcast of a baseball game, an 8-5 Phillies victory over the Pirates on August 5, 1921. A rotating group of announcers would call games over the next 15 years until Rosey Rowswell joined the broadcast team in 1936. Rowswell did not travel with the team for road games, instead re-creating the action in Pittsburgh after it came in over theteleprinter, usually an inning or so behind. After working solo for a decade, he was joined in the booth byBob Prince in 1947; Prince would become the lead play-by-play man after Rowswell died in February 1955.[127] Prince's broadcasting style made him immensely popular with fans, and his almost 30-year run with the club coincided with the Pirates' rise to a championship-caliber team.[128][129] Nicknamed "The Gunner," Prince was known for his "Gunnerisms"—nicknames and quips—and created theGreen Weenie in 1966. He also called the Pirates' championships in1960 and1971 as part of the national broadcast forNBC.
Prince and his broadcast partnerNellie King were fired in 1975, which drew the ire of the Pirates' fanbase.Milo Hamilton andLanny Frattare took over as the new broadcast team in 1976. Hamilton was unhappy in Pittsburgh; he didn't get along with Frattare and felt that he was being criticized for not being Bob Prince.[130] Hamilton left to join theChicago Cubs after the 1979 season, and Frattare was elevated to the lead play-by-play announcer. Frattare would continue to call Pirate games through the 2008 season, becoming the longest tenured play-by-play man in team history. In turn, he was replaced byTim Neverett, who called Pirate games from 2009 through 2015.[131]
Former analysts includeDon Hoak,Nelson Briles, andJim Rooker. Former Pirate pitcherSteve Blass, who won Game 7 of the 1971 World Series, worked as a color analyst for the team from 1983 to 2019.[132]
1948: The team replaced the traditional blue and red with the present day black and gold.
The Steel City's steadiness in team tints is something to be celebrated. Be it on the ice at PPG Paints Arena, on the gridiron at Heinz Field or within the picture-perfect confines of PNC Park, Pittsburgh is bathed in black and gold. And because even the most garish styles tend to go and come around again, the bumblebee yellow jerseys, striped black pants and pillbox-style hats of the 1970s made a recent return as the go-to Sunday throwbacks.
[People] all nominated by their fellow citizens for having positively contributed to the betterment of the diverse community in our region.
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | World Series champions 1909 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | World Series champions 1925 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | World Series champions 1960 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | World Series champions 1971 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | World Series champions 1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | National League champions 1901–1903 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | National League champions 1909 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | National League champions 1925 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | National League champions 1927 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | National League champions 1960 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | National League champions 1971 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by–1978 | National League champions 1979 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
