“And there was noooooo doubt about it,” former Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster Lanny Frattare used to exclaim following a victory. With the season Starling Marte had in left field for the Pirates, there was no doubt about the 2015 Gold Glove winner taking home the award for the second year in a row. Once again, Marte used both his arm and glove to position himself among the league leaders in the outfield by leading all of Major League Baseball in outfield assists with 17. The 17 assists ... Read More
Pirates Release Opening Day Festivities, Awards Presenters
For the third consecutive year, the Pittsburgh Pirates will open their season on the North Shore at PNC Park. The team begins the 2014 campaign with a six-game homestand that includes a three-game series vs. National League Central rivals, the Chicago Cubs and the defending N.L. Champion, St. Louis Cardinals. Opening Day festivities will highlight Opening Week as many former Pirates players will return to Pittsburgh to participate in on-field ceremonies and present the Pirates 2013 N.L. award ... Read More
Are the current steroid punishments taking fans away from the game?
Within the week, the MLB's ongoing investigation of the Biogenesis Clinic in Florida has heated up immensely. But I want to take a step away from the moral values and the legal issues of this case and look at something else. I want to look at undoubtedly the biggest reasons why you, the fans, watch sports in the first place. Entertainment. Growing up in the 1990's, I was immersed into baseball in the prime of the Mark McGwire vs. Sammy Sosa home run battle. I was eight years old in 1998 and, ... Read More
Growing Up in the Steroid Era
As a kid in the 90s and a teenager in the 2000s, I got to watch a lot of great players for most, or all, of their careers. My personal favorites were probably Ken Griffey Jr. and Greg Maddux. There were tons of great players though, Bonds, Clemens and Ripken, just to name a few more. There were a few problems with this era however. One of these problems is determining what was “real” and what wasn’t. Most people think that Bonds and Clemens took PEDs and that Griffey, Maddux and Ripken ... Read More
Will this season be successful if the Pirates miss the playoffs?
At this point last month, you were considered negative for saying the Pirates were going to collapse and miss the playoffs. The city was in. The true fans and bandwagon fans alike had this team's back. The players believed and the clubhouse was more alive than ever. The public relations staff had to send out an email about ways to purchase playoff tickets. The last time that happened, email was hardly around. The fans waited 19 years for this. They've waited 19 years of constant reminders that ... Read More