At the turn of the century, the destiny of the Pittsburgh Pirates was dark. The glory days that they enjoyed in the early ‘90’s were coming to a close, and a streak of losing seasons would ensue as the Pirates were viewed as a laughing stock. Now some 20 years later, and Pittsburgh is at the top of the National League, 10 games over .500, and receiving serious national attention for the first time since Andrew McCutchen had dreads; but how did we get here?
Lets start with the streak. Twenty. Twenty straight losing seasons is the ship the Buccos were aboard from 1993-2012, the longest streak of its kind in North American sports history, and not the kind any team wants to be attached to.