With a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Monday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates clinched their 17th consecutive losing season, a new record for any North American sports franchise. The Pirates haven't had a winning season since 1992, the year that Barry Bonds, Doug Drabek, Andy Van Slyke, and Jim Leyland took the Pirates to 96 wins and a National League East championship. Since '92, the Pirates have managed no more than 79 wins, reaching that mark just once in 1997. They've currently lost nine of their last 10 and have only 18 wins since July 1. In fact, this record has been a foregone conclusion for most of the season, long before the Pirates traded Nate McLouth, Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez, Adam LaRoche, Ian Snell, Tom Gorzelanny, and John Grabow in a full-on rebuilding effort.
The previous record for the most consecutive losing seasons was the 16-year run by the Philadelphia Phillies between 1933 and 1948. The Phils had 30 losing seasons in 31 between 1918 and 1948. The Pirates are a long ways from matching that sort of streak, but at the same time it's been an eternity for the Pirates and their fans since Francisco Cabrera singled home Sid Bream to complete the Braves' comeback and the Pirates' heartbreaking loss in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS.
While the players on this current Pirate club are forced to shoulder the brunt of this dubious achievement, they've really got relatively little to do with it. Of the Pirates' regulars, only Ryan Doumit, Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, and Matt Capps played significant roles with the club in 2008. The current coaching staff, led by manager John Russell, has only been in place for the last two seasons and the current front office, with GM Neal Huntington and team president Frank Coonelly, inherited a club that was already doomed to set this record at the end of the 2007 season.
The real architects of this mess are the team's two prior GMs. Cam Bonifay was unable to rebuild the Pirates after the departure of Bonds, Drabek and others in 1993, and when Bonifay was fired in 2001, Dave Littlefield only managed to make the mess worse. It's too soon to know whether the current front office will be able to reverse the trend, though the farm system has improved considerably since they took over in 2007.
Of course, even with improvement coming in the low minors the Pirates might not be able to end this streak until 2011 at the earliest. Until then, everything they're doing will be remembered by baseball fans forever, even if they'd probably rather it be forgotten.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
As a long time Pirate fan who remembers the greatness of the 1970's-Willie Stargell led teams and the resurgence of the 91/92 teams, It's hard to believe that they've been so bad for so long now.
They should have had at least one mediocre 81-81 season in that time span. It's seems like it would be hard to be so consistently bad.
But they accomplished it. P.U.
i like other teams but its nice to see a underdog win
Shame, shame, shame. It is indeed difficult for me to remain a fan of the Pirates I was in the ball park whem Maz hit the home run to beat the much hullaballued Yanks. I also clearly remember players e.g. the Waners, Arky Vaughan, Lee Hanley, Gus Suhr, nd others. I'm sorry to admit I have shifted my allegiance to the Steelers, a winning club. I havent lived in the Pgh area in 40 yrs. I still wish them the best. The best fans in the US deserve more.
Haha, Pittsburgh has the best fans in the US? That is a joke. I have never met a Steelers fan that rootes for the Pirates... They are as fair weathered as Florida and are the biggest cry babies in ALL of sports. Don't even get me started on sid the squid!
Thank you Pirates........Phillies no longer hold the most consecutive losing seasons. I would also like to thank the 07 Mets for having the worst september choke EVER and letting the 64 Phillies off the hook. lol.
save your thanks man. you got new problems in philly. his name is michael vick...
There is only one explanation. It's the ugly uniforms. Might as well bring back the "conductors" cap that the team wore when Stargell was playing.
Awww bull hockey!!! To blame it on Bonifay or Littlefield is wrong headed at best. The real criminals (and I do mean criminals) are the disgusting creeps who make up the ownership group of the Pirates . Aiding and abetting them are all of the other owners who like having a perennial 'easy meat' team out there along with the fact that the pirates never keep decent talent, they always trade them away for a bag of purported magic beans and a player to be named later! The fans in Pittsburgh deserve far better than this, but will never get it. They built this team a first class ball park, they still go to the games in greater numbers than any other fan base of a similar size would and no one is boycotting this travesty.
All involved should hang their heads low. This was one of the best teams in base ball. Now it is a JOKE
Absolutely right on, Cleetus. The principle owner - Robert Nutting - should have his nuts removed. He also owns a newspaper chain and a local ski resort - two other losing propositions in this economy - so he won't spend a dime. Oh, and he didn't pay for that stadium either.
You have to go a long way to top the crappy Phillies teams that save for a few years dominated the loss columns in the sports pages during the first part of the twentieth century. Harvey Haddox, Elroy Face where have you gone?
This team has never been the same since that lost in the 92'nlcs,been mismanged even w/ a new stadium is still a mess,they need a cmplete overhaul which it looks like they are doing
They got robbed on Saturday.
I can't believe that nobody is blaming Neil Huntington. I say that Bob Nutting, Frank Connelly and Huntington haven't done anything to prevent this. They could have gone out and gotten big name talent in the off season. They could have opened the stuffed wallets a little and spent some money. They could have kept that team they had together last year and rebuilt at the same time. You can do both. No sense in losing a hundred games just to get mediocre minor league "talent". To all three of them I would say "17 years of losing is all your fault!
The problem is the worthless ownership of "Nothing Honey" Nutting and before McClatchy. MLB should force a sale of the team. The ownership is the issue. Pete Rose banned for life for betting on the Reds to win. These owners don't want to win. They should be banned for life from owning any sports team!
do not worry the boston red sox are next
to have bad season
I see a similar situation of the Pirates here in Marlin country. They try to keep it on the cheap, getting rid of good players and then selling or trading them away, no core nucleus to maintain a winning team for a good few years.
Why complain about the owners. They don't care about the team. All you read every day is, we're building the minor league system to be the best for years to come. I have 1 question for the idiots in the front office. When was the last time a minor league team won the world series ? It's time for Mr. Selig to take over this huge problem in Pittsburgh. I've been a fan since I was 11, and now I'm 49. Roberto Clemente and Pops Stargell must be turning in their graves for what has gone on the last 17 years. They just don't care. Only the money they are saving. Love when they say, it's not a money issue there. They all are a bunch of low life losers and liars. They all need a good a** kicking. Saw today on ESPN where Tim Kerkjan said the losing will continue for another few years....Great News for all The Pirates fans...
I was a Pirate fan during their glory years of the 1960's and 1970's. I moved to Los Angeles from PA during the late 1970's. I still love the Steelers but he Buccos are horrible. I do not expect the Pittsburgh Pirates to ever have a winning season again. Nor, do I expect the franchise to remain in the Steel City for much longer.