Angry, disappointed fans wait and wait
On a summer evening in Milwaukee, with his team mired near the bottom of the National League, Pirates’ manager Bobby Bragan emerged from the dugout mid-game.
Bragan headed toward the umpires. Strangely enough, he was sipping from a small drinking carton. Moments earlier, the brash Bucco skipper had been ejected from the game following a disputed call at second base. After strolling onto the field, Bragan stood nonchalantly facing the umps, straw in mouth.
It was one of Bragan’s last acts in his Pirates’ managerial career.
A couple of days elapsed, then he was fired “for the general welfare of the club.” General manager Joe L. Brown hired Danny Murtaugh to replace Bragan.
Up to the point of the firing, the 1957 Pirates were 36-67. Under Murtaugh, the team won 26 games while losing 25, a tick above break-even.
Pirates home attendance under Bragan-Murtaugh was 850,732.
Their first full season with Murtaugh in charge, the Pirates won 84 games and drew 1.3 million fans. Following a disappointing 1959, the Pirates won a pennant and the World Series in 1960. Murtaugh was still in charge.
Some 1.7 million fans turned out for home games at old Forbes Field in that year of years.
So far in 2025, attendance at PNC Park has been abysmal. Ditto the Pirates. There’s a correlation, of course. The Pirates win, the Pirates draw. The Pirates lose, well … you get the point.
I’m like most fans I suppose -I’m not sure who to blame for the Pirates’ play and record, or the pace they’re setting. Who’s at fault? The Pirates fired manager Derek Shelton on Thursday. Should general manager Ben Cherington go next? What about team president Travis Williams? What about ownership?
What is clear is that the Pirates are off track – way off track. The team is staring another 100-loss season in the face. Since 1985, there have been five such seasons, including two successive years, in 2021 and 2022. Between 1900 and 1984, there was a total of three seasons in which the team lost 100 or more games.
Certainly, 2025 under Shelton and now Don Kelly is not like 1957 under Bragan-Murtaugh. The roster in 1957 included a future Most Valuable Player: Dick Groat; a future Cy Young Award winner: Vernon Law; plus two future Hall of Famers: Bill Mazeroski and Roberto Clemente; and other up-and-coming players like Bob Skinner, Bob Friend, and Bill Virdon.
With the possible exception of pitching phenom Paul Skenes, the 2025 Pirates are barren of future Hall of Fame prospects. (Though his swing is sweet and he has other prodigious skills, I hesitate to mention Oneil Cruz.)
Sure, there is Bryan Reynolds, a solid big leaguer, and Andrew McCutchen, a one-time All-Star and former MVP. Otherwise, the roster is forgettable. What’s happened to Ke’Bryan Hayes? Will Henry Davis ever come around?
Yes, there are injured players. And yes, baseball, as Joe Garagiola was fond of saying, is a funny game. After prolonged losing streaks, teams have been known to collect themselves. But with this roster, it’s hard to imagine the Pirates doing anything spectacular. It’s only May, but 2025 already seems like a waste.
Paul Skenes must be wondering, “What have I got myself into here?” The weight of one more disappointing season must hang heavy on Bryan Reynolds.
Still, think of the fans. In my case and at my age, it literally takes a calculator to figure out that the Pirates last World Series appearance was 46 years ago. At this pace, I’ll be long gone by the time the Bucs raise another National League flag and play late into October. If they ever do.
But I’ve had my seasons. Think of the generations of Pirates fans who have never tasted the thrill of championship summers. I’m reminded especially of the young people – teenagers, fans in their early 20s, boys and young men, girls and young women – I’ve seen at PNC Park. Decked out in Pirate T-shirts and tops, wearing Bucco caps, they are loyal and enthusiastic. They are devoted to the Pirates. How else to account for their presence at the ballpark? Yes, PNC Park is great. But atmospherics only go so far.
For a city like Pittsburgh, for any city, really, major league baseball is a community asset. For those closest to the team, it’s a public trust.
Ball clubs, excluding the likes of the Yankees and Dodgers, have their ups and downs, their good seasons and bad. In this respect, the Pirates are the exception.
Richard Robbins lives in Uniontown. He can be reached at dick.l.robbins@gmail.com.