Pirates 17th Consecutive Losing Season

As I'm sure many of you actually reading this already assumed, this will end up being an incredibly long winded, somewhat nostalgic, and wholly rambling post. Should you be here just for the pretty pictures and amusing statistics, jump down to the end.

Today the Pirates picked up their 82nd loss of the season, ensuring a major American sports record 17th consecutive losing season. The Steelers about to begin their defense of the Super Bowl trophy, and the Pens will soon be starting training camp, coming off a Stanley Cup victory. To say the Pirates are an afterthought in Pittsburgh, let alone the rest of the country, would be a gross understatement. There will probably be a few jokes in various media outlets over the next day or two, but after that, the Pirates will again drift from the collective conscience of most people, sports fans and casual observers alike.

While the majority of disgruntled Pirates fans and Pittsburghers will fondly recall what things were like to be a Pirates fan in '79, or '92, or even 1960, my recollection of Pirates baseball has been defined by this streak of futility. I'm 21, and the Pirates have not had a winning season in 17 years. You do the math on that one. Perhaps it is in fact because I have no real experience with the thrill of a playoff-caliber team that I have been so faithful to my Bucs, or perhaps just an case of misguided loyalty. For me, the promise of the Buccos staying in Pittsburgh in '96 outweighed the heartbreak of seeing my favorite player, Andy Van Slyke leave town the year before, the thrill of a no-hitter overshadow the barely missing the playoffs on the last day of the season in '97, Rob Mackowiak's walk off home run superseding a 100 loss season, or even the promise of legitimate, superstar caliber prospects easing the pain of the trade of Jack Wilson. It's very easy to lose interest in a team that has struggled so mightily for so long. However, for me at least, my interest in the team is not tied to wins and losses. The players that have passed through Pittsburgh over the past 17 years have done nothing but entertain me, and that is something I find invaluable.



And on a far lighter note, I now Pittsburgh Pirates 1993-2009 Futility All-Stars:

I went through and found the Pirates various leaders in games played at each position over the past 17 years. Not a lot of surprises, but for your viewing pleasure...

Catcher: Jason Kendall 1252 games played

First Base: Kevin Young 1150 games

Second Base: Freddy Sanchez 676 games

Third Base: Aramis Ramirez 559 games

Shortstop: Jack Wilson 1159 games

Left Field: Al Martin 885 games

Center Field: Nate McLouth 436 games

Right Field: Orlando Merced 396 games


SP: Jason Schmidt 129 starts

MR: John Grabow 390 games

CL: Mike Williams 140 saves

we are family

Sadly enough management will continue to play the "we are a small market" card every year. Even though other small market teams have been able to find success in the last 17 years. Unless you like seeing minor league baseball being played, fans should have no reason wasting their money to see this garbage. Maybe when the team starts to lose money and are being talked about for retraction, management may decide to spend some money on GOOD players.

AndruwHRJones said:

Sadly enough management will continue to play the "we are a small market" card every year. Even though other small market teams have been able to find success in the last 17 years. Unless you like seeing minor league baseball being played, fans should have no reason wasting their money to see this garbage. Maybe when the team starts to lose money and are being talked about for retraction, management may decide to spend some money on GOOD players.

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Like I said, maybe I'm just too optimistic. However, I don't think simply throwing money at the problem, a la the Royals, will solve anything. The current management team has been in charge of the team for less than two seasons, and in that time has revitalized the minor league system, and brought in an almost entirely new 25 man roster. After reading various interviews, as well as having a few opportunities to discuss the topic with various front office people, I do believe their drafting and development strategy is one that will succeed, and takes into account Pittsburgh's market size. Obviously spending will need to be increased if a legitimate contended does develop, but I am strongly against the idea of spending money just to spend it. The true test will come when there is legitimate talent on the major league roster, and whether the club will allocate money to retain those players. Until that time comes, the discussion is really very speculative.

subject to change said:

AndruwHRJones said:

Sadly enough management will continue to play the "we are a small market" card every year. Even though other small market teams have been able to find success in the last 17 years. Unless you like seeing minor league baseball being played, fans should have no reason wasting their money to see this garbage. Maybe when the team starts to lose money and are being talked about for retraction, management may decide to spend some money on GOOD players.

Click to expand...

Like I said, maybe I'm just too optimistic. However, I don't think simply throwing money at the problem, a la the Royals, will solve anything. The current management team has been in charge of the team for less than two seasons, and in that time has revitalized the minor league system, and brought in an almost entirely new 25 man roster. After reading various interviews, as well as having a few opportunities to discuss the topic with various front office people, I do believe their drafting and development strategy is one that will succeed, and takes into account Pittsburgh's market size. Obviously spending will need to be increased if a legitimate contended does develop, but I am strongly against the idea of spending money just to spend it. The true test will come when there is legitimate talent on the major league roster, and whether the club will allocate money to retain those players. Until that time comes, the discussion is really very speculative.

Click to expand...

Until they start spending money to retain players or buy players, I am not sold on anything management says. Their organization is known for destroying young pitchers, not sure how, but the Pirates manage to do it. After 17 years of losing, I think management owes it to the fans to show that they are committed to winning. Throwing money at a few good free agents in my opinion would give fans something to look forward too. Not all of these 2nd rate free agents they get every year. Guys who are well past their prime, but the Pirates still think they have a good year or two left in the tank.

Btw, I am from the area originally, so I was there for the first 10 years of this losing streak. Every year they say the same crap. I remember when 2000-2002 was supposed to be their playoff run years with all of the nice young talent they had. Instead they trade Aramis Ramirez away for Twinkie and $5 cash. That Kendall contract was awesome too....

I give you credit for standing by them, but I refuse to stand by a team when management doesn't bother to put a team on the field worth seeing.

You are definitely correct that the Pirates managed to destroy more arms than seemed possible. I wrote a longer post on this topic in another thread, but to summarize...under Littlefield, and possibly even Bonifay, the player development and coaching staff was so bad, that the only players who would make any progress were self-learning types. I think that's why a lot of players that were rated in BA's lower 15 made the majors (Snell, Gorzelanny, Mike Gonzalez, McLouth, etc), while others like JR House, Chad Hermansen, and others with raw tools were never able to refine those tools once they hit the upper minors. In particular, one interview with John Van Benschoten stands out in my mind where he said that he basically received little to no instruction while in the Pirates minor league system, and had basically had to learn to pitch on his own.

I agree that there is no reason to believe the Pirates will spend money until they actually go ahead and do so. But I'd also hate to see us unable to resign a McCutchen or Alvarez in 5 or 6 years because we have $10-15 committed to an aging veteran that we had to give an inflated deal to in order to get him to play in Pittsburgh. I think something like Washington's Adam Dunn signing would have been a great fit for the Pirates...short term contract at a rate that was well below market value in past years that would serve as a bridge between rebuilding and the developing prospects. If we could find that type of deal this offseason, I would be all for it.

We needed to rebuild farm system after littlefield. Now that it has been done I anticipate more money to be spent to retain those players.

The Post-Gazette compiled a list of all 317 players that put on a Pirates uniform during 'the streak.' It doesn't take more than a quick glance to realize why the Pirates haven't had a winner.