Pirates Feel Fans' Excitement
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Even with the ups and downs of the last nine seasons, the excitement remains palpable from Pittsburgh Pirates fans.
The Pirates held their fan event, PiratesFest, on Saturday and Sunday. This event allowed fans to interact with players through games, Q&As, and other activities. Pirates All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds noted that the event serves as a reminder that the beginning of the upcoming season is near.
"You just feel everyone's excitement for the season you build off that," Reynolds told SportsNet Pittsburgh. "It kind of closes the offseason and gets your mind back to [the] Pirates and just gearing up [for the] final few weeks."
The Pirates are coming off a second straight 76-86 season and haven't made the playoffs since 2015. Pittsburgh was in the thick of the playoff race before an 8-19 August that was highlighted by a 10-game losing streak that effectively ended its hopes of making the postseason.
Reynolds was one of the few bright spots for the Pirates, as he made the second All-Star team of his career. The switch-hitting outfielder batted .275/.344/.447 with 24 home runs and 88 RBIs. Reynolds has hit at least 24 home runs in the last four seasons and driven in at least 80 RBIs in three of the last four seasons.
The Pirates will have franchise icon Andrew McCutchen back for at least one more season. McCutchen is coming off a solid season in which he hit 20 home runs and drove in 50 RBIs. McCutchen has won an MVP, Gold Glove, the Roberto Clemente Award and he's a four-time Silver Slugger to go with five All-Star nods.
Over his 11-year career in Pittsburgh, the Pirates legend has amassed 42.7 bWAR and has batted .284/.375/.475 with 235 home runs and 818 RBIs. McCutchen ranks among the franchise's all-time great players, ranking in the top 10 in Wins Above Replacement, games played, at-bats, home runs, RBIs, hits, doubles and total bases.
"It's always great to get the support of the fans [and] be able to come in and interact with a lot of people who you know may not get that opportunity to interact with ever," McCutchen said. "I always hear a lot of stories from a lot of people [who have] been around for a long time, even before I was here. It's great just to be able to interact with them and get to know them a little bit, even if it's for five to 10 seconds."
