Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
If someone would have told me in March that the New York Yankees would not make the playoffs in both Andy Pettite and Marino Riveria‘s final seasons. I would probably laugh. Now if you combat that with the fact that the Pittsburgh Pirates would make the playoffs? Well I would have to do my best Jim Mora impression.
The story out of PNC Park has been a great one. After years of being the joke of the league, it clicked. Their minor league system finally paid off, they grabbed two ex-Yankees and have put together a magical run. PNC Park deserves a great team, and they finally got one.
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This season behind the arm of rookie sensation Gerrit Cole has been something that Pirates fans have been waiting for since the pre-steroid days of Barry Bonds. Its ironic that the year the Pittsburgh Steelers have decided to start off quite poorly now that the city has a team to get them through the fall (sorry Pittsburgh Penguins, you’re not relevant until the new year).
For any one that has either been to that ball park or has had the pleasure of watching this team on TV, don’t look only at the team that’s on the field, but look at the fans. These people are some of the most rowdy when it comes to their teams. Granted, most of them more or less forgot that the team was still playing, but there’s something to be said for that Wild Card game when it looked like a World Series atmosphere.
In every league, there is time for change. Teams will have good years and bad, yet when a team can get on a run and does something magical, something that a city hasn’t seen in so long, it brings people together. It shows pride for who they really are.
To quote one of my favorite baseball movies, Field of Dreams:
“The one constant through all the years has been baseball … This field, this game, is part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good and that could be good again”.
The city of Pittsburgh, although being primarily a football and hockey town as of late, deserves to have their baseball team do well. So Pittsburgh Pirates nation, keep your chin up as your rookie takes the mound tonight. Regardless of what happens in Game 5, be proud of who you are and what the Pirates have been able to do this season; and most importantly, know that this is a sign of good things to come.
You can follow me on Twitter @HarrisonScottT. Check out my weekly show @TBR_305
