The Pittsburgh Pirates have seen a lot of success since posting their 20th consecutive losing season in 2012. They won 94 games in 2013 and made an appearance in the National League Division Series, and followed that up with an 88 win season en route to another playoff appearance.
So what’s been the key to this success? The simplest answer might be the best answer – they have good players, and a team with good players typically puts up a winning record over the grueling 162 game season. However, there’s more to it than just that. Baseball has a mental aspect that not a lot of other sports have.