by christopher c. wuensch
Despite all the fancy equipment and eager-to-please minor league catchers that cohabitate in a Major League bullpen during spring training, Denny Bautista can’t find anyone to join him in a simple game of catch.
To stave off his boredom, he tosses a ball at the green-brick wall that butts up against the back of the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen, each heave returning perfectly on a roll to his feet. Over his shoulder, his teammates are waging a tepid battle against the Cincinnati Reds under the 77-degree sun at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Fla. To the throng of autograph-hounding fans that keep a keen eye on Bautista alone in his little fiefdom, the flame-throwing righty resembles a 12-year kid rather than a journey-man pitcher attempting to make his sixth Major League ballclub in five seasons.
Reciprocity, as the Dominican is finding out, is in short order these days in the swashbuckling world of the Pirates — and not just between the symbiotic relationship of pitcher and bullpen catcher. In a city still shaking off its hangover from a thrilling Super Bowl-win in February and less than a year removed from the Stanley Cup finals, the Pirates are Steel City’s underachieving cousin that the family would prefer not acknowledge.
If you’re to believe the pundits, the Bucs will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their last World Series title this season with yet another losing campaign — the 17 consecutive.
Losing breeds contempt, or, at the very least, indifference. Last year, with the sparkle still twinkling on the veneer of their 8-year-old stadium, the Bucs saw their single, home-game average attendance dip by more than 2,000. To put it in perspective, the Pirates drew more than 1.14 million less fans than the National League average of 2.75 million in 2008.
In Bradenton, the Pirates are pseudo-kings, falling behind in popularity in the Manatee County town to Tropicana Orange Juice and famous one-time residents such as tennis greats Andre Agassi and Monica Seles to legendary musicians Pee Wee Ellis and Steven Tyler.
Despite its history of tennis and soccer pros and world-class juice, the most well-known edifice in Bradenton is McKechnie Field. It can only be assumed that Popi’s Place, a raggedy family restaurant outside of the Pirates’ spring training home, is a close second in popularity.
On March 22, more than 5,700 fans filled the 86-year old ballpark to capacity to witness the Pirates host the Reds. Each one of those fans—except for those not adorning Reds’ gear—has an opinion as to why the Pirates annually lead the league in futility.
“Unfortunately the Bucs have a storied history of reluctance to pay top dollar for top talent,” said Albert Andrus of Bluffton, a diehard Steel City supporter like many others from the Lowcountry.
“Kevin McClatchy at least has made a commitment to the Pirate fans to field the best possible team for these devoted people,” said Andrus of the former Pirate owner. “At the same time, there remains an unwillingness to throw good money after bad to acquire admittedly overpriced talent that often is past their prime and too often will not reflect the owner’s commitment to the fans.”
Last year, only the Oakland A’s, Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays spend less on their players than the $48.7 million new owner Robert Nutting spent on the Bucs. The Rays are proof that small market, low budget teams can thrive in today’s MLB, advancing to the World Series last year.
Nutting, like McClatchy, made their initial fortunes in the newspaper industry. The recent decline of newspapers nationally and the Pirates, however, are parallel but utterly coincidental.
In an era where it’s chic to be a pirate — see the blockbuster film series Pirates of the Caribbean — the Pirates still struggle to put posteriors in seats. The trilogy netted more than $2 billion in gross assets—a figure that could bankroll this year’s Pirate’s entire roster 55 times over.
Other fans in Bradenton position that the owners aren’t to blame. They argue the real reason for the Bucs’ ineptitude is that the talent simply is not there or, if it is, it’s being grossly mismanaged.
“It’s not about the money,” said Pirate fan Barry Rivers from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “It’s hard to pinpoint one thing, but I blame the wasted draft picks.”
Behind Rivers, Sean Burnett warms up in the Bucs’ bullpen. After making his big league debut in 2004 as a No. 1 draft pick, Burnett spent three seasons out of the game with an arm injury. Rivers words barely had time to be blown away by the warm, Gulf of Mexico breezes when Pirates starting pitcher Ian Snell hobbled by on his way to the locker room in search of medical attention.
The real reason the Pirates have lost 1,426 games in 16 years, an average of 89 per season, is likely a confluence of shoddy draft picks, lackluster spending and poor coaching.
Despite the disastrous span of uninspired and borderline insipid play, the Pirates remain committed as ever to Bradenton, where in spring training everyone is a title contender.
The city celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary with the Bucs by re-upping their lease with the team and the stadium for another 30 years. Only the Tigers in Lakeland and the Phillies in Clearwater (each with more than 60 years residency) have been in their respective spring training sites longer.
With the freshly refurbished park, the fans do come out to the ballpark in the spring — even if half of them are Reds fans or just as an excuse to marinate in the sun for a few hours. At the end of the March 22 game in Bradenton, a recording of Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O” tickled the Florida sky attempted to lift the spirits of the Bucs fans, who just witnessed their team get one-hit by the Reds. Daylight come and me wanna to go home with a win.
FOLLOW UP: Since this article ran on Opening Day, the Bucs are off to a fast start. Pittsburgh entered this weekend's west-coast swing against the Padres with a 9-6 record and are coming off a three-game sweep of the 11-4 Florida Marlins.
A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME
MLB's unlovable losers, the Pittsburgh Pirates enter the 2009 season riding 16-years of dreary baseball. How did it all go so wrong for one of the sport's proudest and oldest franchises?
EDITOR'S NOTE: This piece originally ran on April 6 in Bluffton Today. Space constraints prevented the entire article from being published. Here is the complete article.
Despite all the fancy equipment and eager-to-please minor league catchers that cohabitate in a Major League bullpen during spring training, Denny Bautista can’t find anyone to join him in a simple game of catch.
To stave off his boredom, he tosses a ball at the green-brick wall that butts up against the back of the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen, each heave returning perfectly on a roll to his feet. Over his shoulder, his teammates are waging a tepid battle against the Cincinnati Reds under the 77-degree sun at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Fla. To the throng of autograph-hounding fans that keep a keen eye on Bautista alone in his little fiefdom, the flame-throwing righty resembles a 12-year kid rather than a journey-man pitcher attempting to make his sixth Major League ballclub in five seasons.
Reciprocity, as the Dominican is finding out, is in short order these days in the swashbuckling world of the Pirates — and not just between the symbiotic relationship of pitcher and bullpen catcher. In a city still shaking off its hangover from a thrilling Super Bowl-win in February and less than a year removed from the Stanley Cup finals, the Pirates are Steel City’s underachieving cousin that the family would prefer not acknowledge.
If you’re to believe the pundits, the Bucs will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their last World Series title this season with yet another losing campaign — the 17 consecutive.
Losing breeds contempt, or, at the very least, indifference. Last year, with the sparkle still twinkling on the veneer of their 8-year-old stadium, the Bucs saw their single, home-game average attendance dip by more than 2,000. To put it in perspective, the Pirates drew more than 1.14 million less fans than the National League average of 2.75 million in 2008.
In Bradenton, the Pirates are pseudo-kings, falling behind in popularity in the Manatee County town to Tropicana Orange Juice and famous one-time residents such as tennis greats Andre Agassi and Monica Seles to legendary musicians Pee Wee Ellis and Steven Tyler.
Despite its history of tennis and soccer pros and world-class juice, the most well-known edifice in Bradenton is McKechnie Field. It can only be assumed that Popi’s Place, a raggedy family restaurant outside of the Pirates’ spring training home, is a close second in popularity.
On March 22, more than 5,700 fans filled the 86-year old ballpark to capacity to witness the Pirates host the Reds. Each one of those fans—except for those not adorning Reds’ gear—has an opinion as to why the Pirates annually lead the league in futility.
“Unfortunately the Bucs have a storied history of reluctance to pay top dollar for top talent,” said Albert Andrus of Bluffton, a diehard Steel City supporter like many others from the Lowcountry.
“Kevin McClatchy at least has made a commitment to the Pirate fans to field the best possible team for these devoted people,” said Andrus of the former Pirate owner. “At the same time, there remains an unwillingness to throw good money after bad to acquire admittedly overpriced talent that often is past their prime and too often will not reflect the owner’s commitment to the fans.”
Last year, only the Oakland A’s, Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays spend less on their players than the $48.7 million new owner Robert Nutting spent on the Bucs. The Rays are proof that small market, low budget teams can thrive in today’s MLB, advancing to the World Series last year.
Nutting, like McClatchy, made their initial fortunes in the newspaper industry. The recent decline of newspapers nationally and the Pirates, however, are parallel but utterly coincidental.
In an era where it’s chic to be a pirate — see the blockbuster film series Pirates of the Caribbean — the Pirates still struggle to put posteriors in seats. The trilogy netted more than $2 billion in gross assets—a figure that could bankroll this year’s Pirate’s entire roster 55 times over.
Other fans in Bradenton position that the owners aren’t to blame. They argue the real reason for the Bucs’ ineptitude is that the talent simply is not there or, if it is, it’s being grossly mismanaged.
“It’s not about the money,” said Pirate fan Barry Rivers from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “It’s hard to pinpoint one thing, but I blame the wasted draft picks.”
Behind Rivers, Sean Burnett warms up in the Bucs’ bullpen. After making his big league debut in 2004 as a No. 1 draft pick, Burnett spent three seasons out of the game with an arm injury. Rivers words barely had time to be blown away by the warm, Gulf of Mexico breezes when Pirates starting pitcher Ian Snell hobbled by on his way to the locker room in search of medical attention.
The real reason the Pirates have lost 1,426 games in 16 years, an average of 89 per season, is likely a confluence of shoddy draft picks, lackluster spending and poor coaching.
Despite the disastrous span of uninspired and borderline insipid play, the Pirates remain committed as ever to Bradenton, where in spring training everyone is a title contender.
The city celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary with the Bucs by re-upping their lease with the team and the stadium for another 30 years. Only the Tigers in Lakeland and the Phillies in Clearwater (each with more than 60 years residency) have been in their respective spring training sites longer.
With the freshly refurbished park, the fans do come out to the ballpark in the spring — even if half of them are Reds fans or just as an excuse to marinate in the sun for a few hours. At the end of the March 22 game in Bradenton, a recording of Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O” tickled the Florida sky attempted to lift the spirits of the Bucs fans, who just witnessed their team get one-hit by the Reds. Daylight come and me wanna to go home with a win.
FOLLOW UP: Since this article ran on Opening Day, the Bucs are off to a fast start. Pittsburgh entered this weekend's west-coast swing against the Padres with a 9-6 record and are coming off a three-game sweep of the 11-4 Florida Marlins.
