This year's Pittsburgh Pirates World Series quest is over three-and-a-half decades in the making. There's a healthy portion of the Buccos' fan base that wasn't alive or cognizant enough to remember the team's 1979 championship team. So, the time is now for the Pirates to forget the close calls of recent years and bring home a title to one of the best fan bases in all of American sports.
We believe.
Here's 3 Reasons Why The Pirates WILL Win The World Series.
1. Gerrit Cole
Hey ESPN...can you start giving Cole the love he deserves? The 25-year-old righty has emerged as one of a handful of elite pitchers going in Major League Baseball right now with a 19-8 record, 2.60 ERA, 200+ Ks, a miniscule 1.09 WHIP, .287 opposing on-base precentage and .336 opposing slugging percentage. He will also get a Cubs team in the NL Wild Card Game that he just held to one run and four hits six days ago. Over 3 career Septembers, Cole is pitching to a sub-3 ERA and a K/inning ratio close to 1.2.
What does all this mean? It means that Cole is clutch and the right guy to helm this rotation on its road to a World Series title.
2. The Cutch Effect
April and September have been/were iffy for Andrew McCutchen at the plate, but these months sandwich four months where he was once again the most complete hitter/player in all of the Majors. And, regardless of his semi-swoon this month, he's still getting on base at a 42% clip post-All Star break.
That's been fantastic from a table-setting perspective for a Pirates team in the top-third of baseball in on-base percentage. Cutch is the engine for this team's championship aspirations, offensively and defensively. There's nobody in baseball we'd rather have in that position. He'll be the X-factor on this team's road to a title.
3. That Crowd
Let's be real -- the Cubs aren't catch the Buccos for the #1 wild card spot in the NL. That means a young Cubs team will have to travel to PNC Park to deal with a black-clad Pittsburgh crowd that would make fans at an Oakland Raiders game throw their hands up in futility. Remember how everyone lauded the Kansas City Royals' fans during last year's playoff run.
America will fall in love with the Pirates' rabid and loyal fan base in the same way this year. Win a couple road games here and there (which Pittsburgh will), and the team's home-field fireworks will carry them to a trophy.
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