They may “only” rank seventh on The Athletic’s recently released MLB misery index, but I would argue that Pittsburgh Pirates fans are the most jaded fanbase in all of baseball. Sure, they technically made three consecutive playoff appearances from 2013 to 2015, but were twice blanked by opposing aces in the NL Wild Card Game, and did not win the lone Divisional Series they played in.
Meanwhile, let’s see what this fanbase has endured.
- A World Series drought that will hit 40 years in 2019. The Bucs haven’t appeared in the Fall Classic since the “We Are Family” Pirates brought home the franchise’s second title that decade.