[caption id="attachment_10" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Sid Bream ends the 1992 Pirates' World Series Hopes, and sends the team into a 19 year losing spiral."]
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March. The best month to be a sports fan. College basketball holds the conference tournaments and the Big Dance, NFL Free Agency begins, and puck has the trade deadline and the final stretch to the playoffs, but the most exciting for a baseball fan is the beginning of Spring Training. After a four-month hiatus, baseball has returned to the fans in Arizona and Florida, and it could not have come quick enough. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, this month-long trip to Bradenton, Florida brings a new attitude they had not possessed in the past 19 years: Hope. As the 30 major league teams gear up for the new season, the Pirates prepare to do what the franchise has not done in two decades: complete a season with a winning record. After shades of success and promise shone through another losing campaign in 2011, the Pirates are gearing up for what hopes to be the first winning season since Sid Bream (it hurts me as much as it hurts you to say that name) ended the 1992 Pirates hopes at the NLCS Crown.
Last season brought a sense of renewed confidence to the City of Pittsburgh in its baseball team. For the first time the 1992 season, the Pirates held the top spot in the division into the month of July. The Interleague Play losing streak was broken for the first time in its 15-year existence (holding an abysmal .372 winning percentage during this stretch), as the Bucs finished the stretch with a 8-7 record against American League Teams. Series were won against top opponents like the Red Sox, Phillies, Diamondbacks, and Tigers in an impressive fashion. For the first time since 1990, three players (Andrew McCutchen, Kevin Correia, and Joel Hanrahan) were named to the All Star Game for their outstanding play in the first half of the season, and the team entered the Summer Classic with a winning record, an accomplishment not matched since 1992.
[caption id="attachment_18" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Even John Kruk got involved in the Pirates Hype during Baseball Tonight."]
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The quality of play from the team led to something found only during bobblehead giveaways and Skyblast Firework nights: sold out crowds. The team attracted the fourth-highest number of fans in its 125-year history, behind the opening of PNC Park and two NLCS seasons. TV Ratings were also drastically increased, with ratings up 34% from the previous year, and Root Sports Pittsburgh had the highest ratings for the Pirates since 2005. The clichéd ‘icing on the cake’ to the successes last year was the July 25th game against the Braves, when the Pirates showcased their talents on the national stage for the first time since September 22, 2004, beating Atlanta 3-1 on ESPN. After this victory, the season came to a screeching halt after Jerry Meals ‘said it was safe’ (giving way to one of the funniest twitter phenomenons, #JerryMealsSaysItsSafe), and the season ended with the first 70-win season (72-90) since the 2004 campaign.
[caption id="attachment_48" align="alignright" width="210" caption="Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker look to end the 19-year losing streak."]
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Despite the 19th consecutive losing season, the season was one of the most memorable in recent history. Pittsburgh was caught up in Pennant Fever throughout the summer, paying more attention to what was happening at PNC Park than what wasn’t happening in Latrobe, something unimaginable in such a Steelers-Driven city. With merchandise up 32% from previous years, Pirates shirts and hats were seen in grocery stores, at local parks, and even in the workplace; the city loved the Bucs. At the trade deadline, the team was a ‘buyer’ instead of a ‘seller’, trading virtually nothing for outfielder Ryan Ludwick and first baseman Derek Lee, ending the stereotype that the Pirates grew young players and traded them away for more prospects. Competitive baseball was reintroduced to the fans of the black and gold, and the same is expected for the 2012 season. With April a mere two weeks away, the city of Pittsburgh is not only gearing up for a deep playoff run by the Penguins, but the excitement for April 5th grows, as the fans await the first Raising of the Jolly Roger of the year.
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