|
Pittsburgh PiratesHere's a "timeline" history of Pittsburgh Pirates baseball. One of the oldest clubs in baseball, the Bucs have been around since 1887.
1887: On April 30 Pittsburgh Pirates baseball begins. Then called the Allegheneys, they play their first National League game, defeating the defending league champion Chicago White Stockings, 6-2, in front of nearly 10,000 fans at Recreation Park. Pittsburgh would go on to finish in 6th Place with a 55-69 record.
1888: The Allegheneys continue to thread water finishing in 5th place with a record of 66-68. 1889: The Allegheneys ride through 3 different mangers as they finishing in 5th place with a record of 51-61.
1890: The Allegheneys are renamed Pirates after signing second baseman
Louis Bierbauer away from the Philadelphia Phillies in the off season.
However, the move does not pay off as the Pittsburgh Pirates sink to the bottom of the NL with an awful 23-113 record.
1891: The Pittsburgh Pirates continue to struggle finishing in 8th place with a terrible 55-80 record.
1892: As the National League experiments with a split season the Pittsburgh Pirates show significant improvement posting a combined 80-73 record.
1893: The Pittsburgh Pirates make their first run at the NL Pennant finishing 5 games behind the Boston Beaneaters with a solid 81-48 record.
1894: The Pirates take a step backwards as they struggle to finish with a mediocre 65-65 record. In the final weeks of the season Connie Mack would make his managerial debut posting a12-10 record.
1895: In Connie Mack's first full season as manager the Pittsburgh Pirates post a strong 71-61 record but have to settle for 7th place.
1896: The Pittsburgh Pirates finish in 6th place with a mediocre 66-63 record as Connie Mack is let go following the season. Mack would reemerge 5 years later as the owner/manager of the Philadelphia Athletics in the American League where he would manage an incredible 50 years. 1897: Under new Manager Patsy Donovan the Pirates would continue to struggle finishing in 8th place with a record of 60-71.
1898: The Pittsburgh Pirates finish in 8th place again as they struggle to post a record of 72-76.
1899: The Pittsburgh Pirates close out the century on a relatively strong note as they finish the season in strong fashion posting a 76-73 record.
1900: Barney Dreyfuss, owner of the defunct Louisville club, acquires controlling interest of the Pirates and brings 14 players with him, including future Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke. With the infusion of talent the Pittsburgh Pirates finish in 2nd Place with a 79-60 record.
1901: Led by Honus Wagner, who hit .353 with 126 RBI, the Pirates win the National League. Championship for the first time, compiling an impressive 90-49 record.
1902: The Pittsburgh Pirates cruise to their second straight NL Championship with a remarkable 103-36, finishing 27 and half games ahead of the 2nd place Brooklyn Superbas.
1903: The Pittsburgh Pirates win their 3rd consecutive NL Championship with a 91-49 record, and advance to play in the first ever World Series against the Boston Pilgrims. In the first ever World Series Game Deacon Phillippe defeats the legendary Cy Young b as the Pirates down the hometown Boston Pilgrims, 7-3. After splitting the next two games in Boston the Pirates head home to host the first Word Series games in a NL Park. A crowd of 18,801 fills Exposition Park for that game, as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Boston Pilgrims, 4-2, in the first World Series game played in Pittsburgh. However, Boston later emerges as the Series winner, overcoming a three-games-to-one deficit to win the best-of-nine competition, 5 games to 3.
1904: The Pittsburgh Pirates 3-year reign at the top of the National League comes to an end with an 87-66 record only good enough for 4th Place.
1905: Despite an impressive 96-67 record the Pirates only manage to finish in 2nd Place 9 games behind the New York Giants.
1906: On May 6th the Pirates become the first team to use a canvas tarp to cover the infield when it rains. The Pirates would play strong all season posting a solid record of 93-60.
1907: The Pittsburgh Pirates post another solid record of 91-63 but finish in a distant 2nd place, 17 games out of first.
1908: The Pirates find themselves in the thick of a 3-team race for the NL Pennant that goes right down to the wire. However, the Pirates would come up 1 game short with a solid 98-56 record.
1909: On June 30th an overflow crowd of 30,338 witnesses the Pirates fall to the Chicago Cubs, 3-2, in the first game played at Forbes Field, the nation's first ballpark made completely of poured concrete and steel, Forbes Field. The Pirates would go on to win a franchise record 110 games en-route to their 2nd World Series. In a World Series showdown between two of baseball's premiere players (Pirates Honus Wagner vs. Tigers Ty Cobb). However the star of the series was Pirates unheralded Pitcher Babe Adams who won 3 key games including an 8-0 shutout in the deceive Game 7 as the Pirates downed the Tigers to become World Champions for the first time.
1910: The Pirates follow up their World Championship with a solid but unrewarding 3rd Place 86-67 season.
1911: Honus Wagner closes out the season with a .334 average, good enough to earn the "Flying Dutchman" his National League record 8th, and final, batting title. However the Pirates would only finish in 3rd pace with an 85-69 record.
1912: The Pirates have to settle for 2nd place finishing 10 games out first despite a solid record of 93-58.
1913: The Pirates begin to show their age as they sink to 4th place posting a disappointing record of 78-71.
1914: The Pirates continue to sink in the National League as they finish in 7th place with a record of 69-85.
1915: Fred Clarke, who led the Pirates to four pennants, a World Championship and more than 1,400 victories as a player-manager, retires after 16 years at the helm. In his final season the Pirates would finish in 5th place with a record of 73-81.
1916: Under new Manager Jimmy Callahan the Pirates struggle all season to finish with a record of 65-89, while finishing in 6th place.
1917: With most of the players gone form their glory days the Pittsburgh Pirates fall to the bottom of the National League with a 51-103 record.
1918: The Pittsburgh Pirates recover from their last place finish nicely and put together a respectable 65-60 record good enough for 4th Place.
1919: The Pittsburgh Pirates finish in 4th place for the second straight season posting a record of 71-68.
1920: In a carbon copy of the last 2 seasons the Pittsburgh Pirates finish in 4th place again with a record of 79-75.
1921: On August 5th KDKA, the world's first commercial radio station, airs the first broadcast of a Major League game as Harold Arlin describes the action of the Pirates' 8-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Forbes Field. The Pittsburgh Pirates would on to fall just short of the NL Pennant that year with a solid 90-63 record.
1922: After a mediocre 32-33 start Manager George Gibson is fired and replaced by Bill McKechine. Under McKechine the Pirates would make a serious run for the pennant finishing just 8 games short with a solid record of 85-69.
1923: The Pirates continued to play solid baseball as they came with in 8 and half games of the pennant as they finished in 3rd place with a respectable 87-67 record.
1924: The Pittsburgh Pirates are part of a 3-way race for the pennant that goes
down to the final week of the season. However, the Pirates would fall
3 games short in 3rd place with a 90-63 record.
1925: The Pirates win the NL Championship again 95-58 record and face
the Washington Nationals in one of the most exciting World Series ever played. After the first 6 games in which 4 games were decided by a single run the series was tied. In Game 7 of the World Series at Forbes Field, Kiki Cuyler laces an eighth-inning, two out, bases loaded, double off Washington's Walter Johnson to lead the Pirates to a 9-7 victory and their 2nd World Championship. 1926: The Pirates drive for a return trip to the World Series falls just 4 and a half games short with a 3rd Place 84-69 record.
1927: Led by NL MVP Paul Waner the Pirates win their 2nd NL Championship in 3 years to advance to the World Series with a 94-60 record. However, the Pirates are no match for "Murder's Row", a New York Yankees team led by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, and are swept by perhaps the greatest team in baseball history.
1928: The Pirates fall short in their quest for a World Series rematch
with Yankees, as they slide to 4th Place with an 85-67 record.
1929: The Pirates post an 88-65 record and finishing 10 and half games out while finishing in 2nd Place.
1930: The Pirates post an 80-74 record but slide to 5th place in a competitive National League. 1931: The Pirates finish in 5th place again as they fall below .500 with a record of 75-79.
1932: The Pirates battle the Chicago Cubs to the end of the season for the NL Pennant but fall 4 games short with an 86-68 record.
1933: The Pirates fall just short of the NL Pennant again this time finishing behind the New York Giants with an 87-67 record.
1934: The Pirates sink to 5th place posting a mediocre 76-78 record.
1935: In a game at Forbes Field on May 25th, Babe Ruth now playing for the Boston Braves strokes the final 3 home runs of his career. The final blow is the first ever to clear the then 10-year-old right field roof. The Pirates would go on to finish the season 4th with an 86-67 record.
1936: Honus Wagner joins Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson in being elected by the baseball writers as the first players to enter the new Baseball Hall of Fame. However, the actual induction ceremony doesn't take place until June 12, 1939. 1937: The Pirates post a solid 86-68 record while finishing in 3rd place, 10 games out of first place.
1938: On September 15th, Lloyd and Paul Waner hit back-to-back homers in the 5th inning at the Polo Grounds against the New York Giants to become the first brothers to accomplish the feat in a major league game. However the bats of Little and Big Poison fall just short of leading the Pirates to the World Series as they finish 2 games out with an 86-64 record.
1939: The Pirates struggle all season as they float to 6th place posting a disappointing record of 68-85 along the way.
1940: The Pirates continue to drift among the mediocre as they finish in 4th place with a record of 78-76.
1941: At Detroit's Briggs Stadium, Pirates SS Arky Vaughan becomes the first player to hit 2 home runs in an All-Star Game, cracking a pair of two-run homers. However, Vauighn's blasts are overshadowed by a Game Winning HR by Boston Red Sox star Ted Williams. The Pirates would not fair much better finishing in 4th Place with an 81-73 record.
1942: The Pittsburgh Pirates post a disappointing record of 66-82 while finishing in 5th place.
1943: The Pirates climb above .500 posting a record of 80-74, but finish in a distant 4th place.
1944: The Pirates post a solid record of 90-63 while finishing distant 14 and half games out of first in 2nd position.
1945: The Pirates drift back to 4th place as they post a respectable record of 82-72.
1946: As the stars of baseball return from war the Pirates sink to 7th place, as they post a record of 62-93.
1947: Despite a NL High 51 HR from second year OF Ralph Kiner, the Pirates struggle and finish tied with NL's worst record at 62-92.
1948: In the year Bob Prince broadcasts the first Pirate game of 26-year career, Ralph Kiner wins the NL HR title again with 40 as the Pirates finish a solid 4th Place with an 83-71 record.
1949: Ralph Kiner wins his 4th straight Home Run Crown but the Pirates struggles continue as they finish in 6th place with a record of 71-83.
1950: Despite a 5th straight Home Run Title for Ralph Kiner, the Pittsburgh Pirates finish dead last with a terrible 57-96 record.
1951: Ralph Kiner continues to be the NL's top source for power, but once again it has no effect on the Pirates success rate as they finish in 7th place with a record of 64-90.
1952: Ralph Kiner finishes the season with a league-leading 37 homers to win his 7th consecutive NL home run crown. However, the Pirates finish in the cellar with a dreadful 42-112 record.
1953: In the midst of a last place 50-104 season OF Ralph Kiner is traded to the Chicago Cubs, by GM Branch Rickey. Kiner had earlier had a contract squabble with Rickey who told the star OF that the Pirates could still finish in last place without him.
1954: The Pirates pass the century mark in losses for the 3rd straight season as they finish in last place with a record of 53-101.
1955: On April 17th Roberto Clemente, a 20-year-old rookie from Puerto Rico makes his Major League debut in RF at Forbes Field. The Pirates would go on to finish in last place again, but ends a 3-year string of 100-loss season with a 60-94 record.
1956: Firstbaseman Dale Long sets a major league record by hitting a home run in his 8 consecutive games from May 21st to May 28th. The Pirates would go on to escape the cellar for the first time in 4 years, with a 7th place 66-88 record.
1957: During another woeful 62-92 season that sees them tied for the worst record in the NL the Pirates name former 2B Danny Murtaugh as their manager.
1958: In Danny Murtaugh as manger the Pirates put together a solid 2nd place season finishing just 8 games out of first with an 84-70 record.
1959: In one of baseball's most remarkable pitching performances, Harvey Haddix throws 12 perfect innings against the Braves in Milwaukee, only to lose the game, 1-0, in the 13th on an error, sacrifice bunt, intentional walk and double. The Pirates would go on to take a minor step backward finishing in 4th Place with a 78-76 record.
1960: The Pirates win 95 games en-route to their first pennant in 33 years, as SS Dick Groat wins the NL MVP, and Vernon Law snatches the Cy Young with a 20-9 record. In the World Series the opposition is the same as it was 33 years earlier the New York Yankees, and the Pirates are a huge underdog. However the Pirates and the Yankees
play full 7 games. In the first 6 games the Pirates mange to win 3 close games, and lose 3 blowouts. The combined score of Games 2, 3, and 6, which the Pirates lost, is 28-3. In Game 7 the Pirates battle back from a 7-4 deficit to take a 9-7 lead to the 9th inning. However the Yanks tie the game to send the game to the bottom of the 9th tied at 9. In the bottom of the 9th defensive specialist Bill Mazeroski a usually light hitting 2B becomes the first player to end a World Series with a HR with a 1 out solo homer over the LF wall to give the Pirates their 3rd World Championship.
1961: The Pirates follow up their surprise World Championship with a disappointing 75-79 record that lands them in 6th Place.
1962: The Pirates rebound nicely and finish in 4th Place with a solid 93-68 record.
1963: The Pirates post another disappointing season finishing in 8th Place with a poor 74-88 record.
1964: The Pirates continue to float in the middle of the pace as they finish in 6th place with a record of 80-82.
1965: The Pirates make a strong run at the NL Pennant falling 7 games short in 3rd place with a decent 90-72 record.
1966: The Pirates are in a 3-way battle for the NL Pennant until the last week of the season. The Pirates would come up 3 games short in 3rd Place with a 92-70 record. Roberto Clemente would have perhaps his finest season collecting the NL MVP with a career high 29 HR, and 119 RBI.
1967: The Pirates play mediocre baseball all season as they finish in 6th place with an 81-81 record.
1968: The Pirates continue to play mediocre baseball as they finish in 6th place for the 2nd straight season with a record of 80-82. 1969: In the first year of division play the Pirates place 3rd in the NL East with a solid 88-74 record.
1970: On June 28th the Pirates close out 61-year old Forbes Field in style by sweeping a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs. A little over two weeks later on July 16th, the Pittsburgh Pirates open Three Rivers Stadium, a circular faceless multipurpose faculty similar to other stadiums built around that time. In that first game at Three Rivers the Pirates debut their new double knit uniforms that would soon become the trend in baseball. The Pirates would lose that first game at their new stadium 3-2 to the Cincinnati Reds, but with an 89-73 record captured their first division title. However, the Reds would play spoiler again sweeping the Pirates in 3 straight games in the NLCS.
1971: On September 1 The Pirates field what is baseball's first all-minority lineup in a 10-7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Three Rivers. The Pirates would go on to win the division with a 97-65 record. In the NLCS the Pirates would have no problem easily beating the San Francisco Giants 3 games to 1. In the World Series the Pirates would be matched up against the Baltimore Orioles. After losing the first 2 games in Baltimore the series shifted to Pittsburgh. Steve Blass would get the Pirates back into the series by beating the Orioles 5-1by allowing only 3 hits. Game 4 would see history made as for the first time ever a World Series game was played at night. Milt May would drive in the winning run with a pinch-hit single in the 8th to knot the series at 2 games apiece. Game 5 the Pirates would get an unexpected performance for pitcher Nelson Briles who only made 14 starts in the season but shutdown the Orioles 4-0. However the Orioles would rebound when the series got back to Baltimore to set up a decisive 7th game. In Game 7 Steve Blass hurls a four-hitter and Roberto Clemente homers as the Pirates win Game Seven of the World Series, 2-1, at Baltimore, earning Pittsburgh its 4th World Championship. Earning World Series MVP honors was Roberto Clemente who finally got the national acclaim he deserved.
1972: The Pittsburgh Pirates follow up their Championship with an equally impressive season winning their 3rd straight division title with a 96-59 record. On September 30 the final day of the regular season Roberto Clemente hits a 4th inning double off Jon Matlack at Three Rivers Stadium, and becomes only the 11th player in major league history to reach the 3,000 hit plateau. Little did anyone know that would be Clemente's final hit. The Pirates would go on top play the Cincinnati Reds again in the NLCS. After splitting the first 2 games the Pirates lead Game 5 by a score of 3-2 in the 9th. The Reds tie the game on Johnny Bench's lead off HR, and win the game, and the series when Pirates Bob Moose uncorks a wild pitch. Tragedy strikes the Pirates, and all of baseball hard on New Year's Eve when Roberto Clemente who was on a humanitarian mission to help Earthquake victims in Nicaragua, dies in a plane crash. Clemente would instantly be enshrined in the hall of fame. In addition he would go on to have an annual humanitarian award named after him that goes to a player who does something special for his community or charitable organizations.
1973: Trying to recover from the loss of Roberto Clemente the Pirates struggle to finish 80-82. However, in a weak NL East the Pirates just miss out on the 4th straight division title by a mere 2 and half games.
1974: The Pirates edge out the St. Louis Cardinals to win their 4th NL East title in 5 years with an 88-74 record. However the Pirates would fall to a stronger Los Angeles Dodgers team 3 games to 1 in the NLCS.
1975: On their way to their 5th NL East title in 6 years 2B Rennie Stennett sets a modern major league record by going 7-for-7 in a 9-inning game at Chicago's Wrigley Field on September 16th against the Cubs. The Pirates would face their nemesis Cincinnati Reds in the NLCS, and are swept by the Big Red Machine 3 games to 0.
1976: The Pirates put together a solid 92-70 season, but finish 9 games behind the keystone state rival Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.
1977: In what must seem like deja vu the Pirates have a solid 96-66 season but finish 5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL Eastern Division Title.
1978: With Dave Parker collecting the NL MVP the Pirates finish 2nd to the Philadelphia Phillies again with an 88-74 record, this time falling only a game and a half short.
1979: With the Sister Sledge disco song "We Are Family" as their anthem, the never-say-die Pittsburgh Pirates battled through a grueling season, to win the NL East once again with a 98-64 record to edge out the Montreal Expos by 3 games. The Pirates are led by 39 year old Willie Stargell who gets the nickname Pops and splits NL MVP honors with St. Louis Cardinals 1B Keith Hernandez. That year the Pirates players would earn stars called Stargell Stars worn on their caps, and given out for key hits and clutch pitching performances. In the NLCS the Pirates would face the Cincinnati Reds who defeated them 3 times already in the 1970's with a trip to the World Series on the line. Willie Stargell won the first game with a 3-run homer in the 11th, and the Pirates never looked back. Another homer and a .455 average would earned Pops NLCS MVP honors as the Pirates got a measure of revenge by sweeping the Reds in 3 games. The World Series was a rematch of the 1971 Series against the Baltimore Orioles. The Pirates quickly found themselves down 3 games to 1. With his club facing elimination, Manager Chuck Tanner gave the ball to Jim Rooker, who pitched what could safely be called the game of his life. With the Series on the line, he stopped the Orioles cold, throwing 4 hitless innings before surrendering the Birds' lone tally in the 5th. As Bert Blyleven added 4 shutout innings in relief, the Pirates scored 7 times to ice the game. After winning shutting the Orioles out 4-0 in Game 6 the Pirates found themselves in another World Series Game 7. The Orioles took a one-run lead in the 3rd, but the Pirates answered with 2 in the 6th on a Willie Stargell homer. By the bottom of the 9th it was 4-1 Pirates. With ace closer Kent Teckulve on the mound Pat Kelly flew out to Omar Moreno, Teckulve and 24 other Pirates leaped in the air, as the World Championship flag for the 5th time returned to Pittsburgh. Willie Stargell would complete the trifecta winning the World Series MVP.
1980: The Pirates are unable to repeat the magic of their 1979 Championship season, and fall to 3rd place with an 83-79 record.
1981: The Pirates struggle in both halves of a strike-interrupted season, even managing to finish in last place in the 2nd half of a split season, as 1B Willie Stargell is limited to just 38 games.
1982: Willie Stargell hits the 475th, and final HR of his 21-year career on July 21st against the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati with a 8th inning game winning pinch hit HR. The 42-year old veteran would go on to retire following the season, establish a team record in HR along the way. The Pirates would go on to finish in 4th place with an 84-78 record.
1983: The Pirates pit together a solid 84-78 season finishing just 6 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the Eastern Division Title.
1984: The Pirates sink to last place for the first time in 29 years posting a record of 75-87. 1985: The Pirates suffer through their worst season in 30 years losing 104 games on the way to finishing in last place for the 2nd year in a row. Following the season Chuck Tanner would be fired ending his 10-year reign at the helm of the Pirates ship.
1986: The Pirates now in a rebuilding mode hire Jim Leyland as manager, and b ring up rookie OF Barry Bonds after just 1 year in the minors. However, the Pirates don't fare much better finishing in last for the 3rd year in a row with a 64-98 record.
1987: The Pirates use a strong last season surge to escape the NL Eastern Division Basement, and finish tied for 4th Place with an 80-82 record.
1988: The Pirates actually contend for the NL East Title battling the New York Mets neck and neck for the first half of the season. However, the young Pirates would struggle down the stretch and would finish 15 games out of 1st with a solid 85-75 record.
1989: The young Pirates hit a bump in the road and fall to 5th place suffering a disappointing 74-88 record. 1990: After a fruitless decade in the 1980's the Pirates win the NL east with a 95-67 record to beat out the New York Mets by 4 games. Leading the way are NL MVP Barry Bonds, who comes of age with a 30 HR 50 SB season, and Cy Young winner Doug Drabek. The NLCS would also retro 70's feeling to it as the Pirates faced the Cincinnati Reds who themselves They face the Cincinnati Reds again who themselves suffered an empty decade in the 80's. However, like 3 other times in the 70's the Pirates would end up losing 4 games to 2.
1991: The Pirates cruise to their 2nd straight NL East title with a 98-64 record. In the NLCS the Pirates would face the upstart Atlanta Braves, who finished in last place the previous season. The Pirates would hold a 3-2 series lead heading home only needing 1 win to advance to the World Series. However the young arms of the Braves would shut the Pirates out in the final 2 games to advance to the World Series. 1992: After losing 3B Bobby Bonillia to Free Agency the Pirates are Faced with the threat of losing OF Barry Bonds the Pirates win the NL East yet again, with a 96-66 record, as Bonds wins his 2nd MVP in 3 years. In the NLCS the Pirates face the Atlanta Braves for the second year in a row. After trailing 3 games to 1 the Pirates win 2 straight to force a decisive Game 7. The Pirates took a 2-0 lead to the 9th inning, but would end up losing it when pinch hitter Francisco Cabrera drove home the tying and winning runs to break the Pirates hearts. The Pirates who were faced with finical difficulties are forced to let Bonds walk away after signing a Free Agent deal with San Francisco Giants.
1993: The Pirates are unable to overcome the loss of Barry Bonds and fall to 5th Place with a 75-87 record.
1994: Under realignment the Pirates are moved to the NL Central as baseball adds a 3rd division to each league. The Pirates would find themselves in 3rd place with a record of 53-61 when the season was cut
short due to a devastating player's strike on August 12th.
1995: The Pirates fall from the top is completed as the Pirates sink to the bottom of the NL Central with a 58-86 record.
1996: Kevin McClatchy and his financial partners purchase the Pirates and save the franchise from a move out of Pittsburgh by other potential buyers. However, McClatchy begins cutting payroll, and it leads to Jim Leyland's departure as Manager after 11 season at the helm, as the Pirates finish in last with a 73-89 record. 1997: On July 12th in front of a sellout crowd at Three Rivers, Mark Smith's pinch-hit, 3-run homer in the bottom of the 10th caps off a no-hitter by Francisco Cordova (9 innings) and Ricardo Rincon (1 inning), the first combined, extra-inning no-hitter in major league history. The Pirates would actually contend for the NL Central finishing just 5 games out of first despite only having a 79-83 record.
1998: The Pirates are unable to build of their solid season and fall back to last place with a 69-93 record.
1999: With the Pirates off to a solid start star catcher Jason Kendall receives a horrifying knee injury on a the carpet of Three Rivers Stadium The rising star would miss the rest of the season as the Pirates finished 3d with a 78-83 record.
2000: On October 1st a crowd of 55,351, the largest ever to see a regular season baseball game in Pittsburgh, watches the Pirates fall to the Chicago Cubs 10-9, in the final game at Three Rivers Stadium. The Pirates would go on to finish in 5th place with a 69-93 record.
2001: On April 9th the Pirates open up the beautiful new PNC Park along the shore of the Allegheny River and adjacent to Federal Street. However the day is tinged with sadness as Pirates Hall of Famer Willie Stargell died just hours before the first pitch. The Pirates would suffer a mass of injuries to their pitching staff losing all 5 starters for long stretches. The Pirates would go on to finish in last place with a 62-100 record.
2002: The Pirates get off to a promising start as they were over .500 for most of the first 6 weeks of the season. However, the Pirates small market woes would catch up to them as they struggled to finish in 4th place with a record of 72-89, which marked their 10th straight losing season.
2003: It was another year of transition and frustration for the Pirates whose only highlight of the season was a 5-1 record after the season's first week. However, by the time April was over the Pirates had sunk below .500 never t rise above again, as they finished in 4th place with a 75-87 record. Along the way the Pirates began to restructure again trading away Brian Giles and Aramis Ramirez.
2004: The Pirates continued to struggle as the team continued to change, during the season Kris Benson a pending free agent would be traded to the New York Mets for Ty Wiggington while Catcher a Jason
Kendall a Pirate regular since 1996 was traded to the Oakland Athletics following the season in which the Pirates finished in 5th with a record of 72-89, while Jason Bay acquired in the Brian Giles deal established himself as the new star becoming the first member of the Pirate ever to win the NL Rookie of the Year hitting 26 homers and driving in 82 runs, with a .282 average.
2005: The Pirates stumbled right out of the gate losing 11 of their first 15 games on their way to an 8-14 April. The Pirates would play better in May as crawled back to within 2 games of .500 at one point, but it was not to last as the Pirates sank to the bottom of the NL Central where they remained the rest of the season posting a terrible record of 67-95. As September rolled around the Pirates decided to let Manager Lloyd McLendon walk the plank, replacing him with Pete Mackonin for the final 24 games. Despite the lousy season Rookie Pitcher Zach Duke provided something for Pirates fans to cheer about posting an 8-2 record with an impressive 1.81 ERA after being called up on July 1st.
Team Names:
Pittsburgh Allegheneys 1887-1889
Pittsburgh Pirates 1890-Present
Managers:
Horace Phillips 1887-1889
Fred Dunlon 1889
Ned Hanlon 1889
Guy Hecker 1890
Ned Hanlon 1891
Bill McGunngle 1891
Al Buckenberger 1892
Tom Burns 1892
Al Buckenberger 1892-1894
Connie Mack 1894-1896
Patsy Donovan 1897
Bill Watkins 1898-1899
Patsy Donovan 1899
Fed Clarke 1900-1915
Nixey Callahan 1916-1917
Honus Wagner 1917
Hugo Bezdek 1917-1919
George Gibson 1920-1922
Bill McKechine1922-1926
Donnie Bush 1927-1929
Jewel Ens 1929-1931
George Gibson 1932-1934
Pie Traynor 1934-1939
Frankie Frisch 1940-1946
Spud Davis 1946
Billy Herman 1947
Bill Burwell 1947
Billy Meyer 1948-1952
Fred Haney 1953-1955
Bobby Bragan 1956-1957
Danny Murtaugh 1957-1964
Harry Walker 1965-1967
Danny Murtaugh 1967
Larry Shepard 1968-1969
Alex Grammas 1969
Danny Murtaugh 1970-1971
Bill Virdon 1972-1973
Danny Murtaugh 1973-1976
Chuck Tanner 1977-1985
Jim Leyland 1986-1996
Gene LaMont 1997-2000
Lloyd McLendon 2001-2005
Pete Mackonin 2005
Jim Tracy 2006
John Russell Present
Stadiums:
Recreation Park 1887-1890
Exposition Park 1891-1909
Forbes Field 1909-1970
Three Rivers Stadium 1970-2000
PNC Park 2001-Present
World Championships: (5)
1909, 1925, 1960, 1971, 1979
World Series Appearances: (7)
1903, 1909, 1925, 1927, 1960, 1971, 1979
LCS Appearances: (9)
1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1990, 1991, 1992
NL Champions: (2)
1901, 1902
Division Champions: (8)
1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1990, 1991, 1992
Wild Card:
None
Retired Numbers: (9)
1 Billy Meyer MGR 1948-1952
4 Ralph Kiner OF 1946-1953
8 Willie Stargell OF-1B 1962-1982
9 Bill Mazeroski 2B 1956-1972
20 Pie Traynor 3B 1920-1935, 1937
21 Roberto Clemente OF 1955-1972
33 Honus Wagner SS 1900-1917
40 Danny Murtaugh MGR 1957-1964,
1967, 1970-1971, 1973-1976
Manager of the Year: (2)
1990 Jim Leyland
1992 Jim Leyland
Rookie of the Year: (1)
2004 Jason Bay OF
Cy Young: (2)
1960 Vernon Law RHP
1990 Doug Drabek RHP
MVP: (7)
1927 Paul Waner OF
1960 Dick Groat SS
1966 Robert Clemente OF
1978 Dave Parker OF
1979 Willie Stargell 1B
1990 Barry Bonds OF
1992 Barry Bonds OF
LCS MVP: (2)
1979 Willie Stargell 1B
World Series MVP: (2)
1971 Roberto Clemente OF
1979 Willie Stargell 1B
No Hitters: (6)
9/20/1907 Nick Maddox
6/6/1951 Cliff Chambers
9/20/1969 Bob Moose
6/12/1970 Dock Ellis
8/9/1976 John Candelaria
7/12/1997 Combined: Francisco Cordova (9) Ricardo Rincon (1)
Ford C. Frick Recipients: (2)
Milo Hamilton 1976-1979
Bob Prince 1948-1980 |
