MLB Insider Believes Pirates Fans Deserve Better
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates fans have witnessed few great moments from their team in the past decade and hardly over the past 30 years.
The Pirates are coming off of a disappointing weekend against the Cleveland Guardians, where they lost all three games in a sweep, even with great fan turnout the entire weekend.
The first game on April 18, which also had Zambelli fireworks afterwards, saw 27,900 fans attend and then they sold out the next game, as 37,713 fans went for, lining up hours in advance for a Paul Skenes bobblehead.
Despite this turnout, the Pirates had nothing to show for it, as they dropped to 8-15 overall. They rank last in the National League Central Division and have the fourth worst winning percentage of any MLB team, .348, with only the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies with a worse record.
The Pirates last recent period of success occurred a decade ago, when they made three National League Wild Card appearances and won more than 90 games twice in 2013 and 2015.
Pittsburgh would defeat the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park in the NL Wild Card in 2013 and made the NLDS, losing in five games to the St. Louis Cardinals. They lost both NL Wild Card games to the San Francisco Giants in 2014 and the Chicago Cubs in 2015.
The Pirates haven't been to the playoffs since 2015, with just one season above .500 in 2018, as they've struggled building a winning team.
Travis Sawchik, an MLB national writer for theScore, covered the Pirates Pittsburgh Tribune-Review from 2013-16, and remembers the great atmospheres at PNC Park during that time, crediting the fans for showing that support.
He spoke on the podcast, Foul Territory, reminiscing on those times and how the Pirates fans deserve better than what they've witnessed this past decade.
"It's one thing after another in Pittsburgh and it's a shame because there is a 'sleeping giant' fan base there," Sawchik said.
"We saw it, think back to the 2013 Wild Card game, that environment there. Pirates beat the Reds and Johnny Cueto dropped the ball on the mound. So, there is a 'sleeping giant' fan base. We see how the Steelers are supported, the Penguins, in the playoffs how they're supported."
"This isn't a city that needs a new stadium. They have a great stadium. They have a great 'sleeping giant' fan base. They need a better on-the-field product, they need more ownership commitment and I think baseball would be better if there was a legitimate effort to build a winner around Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler, who is on the doorstep. So hopefully Pirates fans get that one day."
The Pirates fan base is a "sleeping giant" that's reached its breaking point, says @Travis_Sawchik.
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) April 21, 2025
"I think baseball would be better if there were a legitimate effort to build a winner around Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler." pic.twitter.com/XDqFMLEuFx
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.