There are two ways to go about rating my home team. Either what type of season they are having or the great players from yesteryear and now that has made this team part of the city of champions.
While it is true the Pirates are currently on a losing steak which we had suffered for 19 years straight until the last couple of seasons, there were years when we hoisted the World Series pennant and have some of our greatest players in the Baseball hall of fame.
I began watching the Pirates in my early years when they played at Forbes Field and later Three Rivers stadium both of which are now demolished. They now play at PNC park (reviewed separately) with spectacular views of the city.
PNC park pays tribute to the great players of yesteryear including Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski, and Willie Stargell to name a few. There is a section at the Heinz history center devoted to the Pirates. Our star player today is Andrew McCutcheon. Still it is a thrill for kids to run the bases as well as have special events planned when the team plays at home.
In addition the team has hosted the All Star game several times out of which I fortunate to go to one of them when they played at Three Rivers Stadium.
Still their continually losing streak is a sense of frustration since it makes going to the games somewhat worthless. It will be nice if they could turn things around as we approach the mid season to make the game more exciting.
Pirate merchandise is available both online and at PNC park and let's not forget our mascot the Pirate parrot! Go Bucs and here's hoping you can come from behind in 2016