COLUMN: The Pittsburgh Pirates Have Come A Long Way in Six Years

With a little over two weeks left until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training, the positive buzz surrounding the Pittsburgh Pirates seems a little light compared to recent seasons.

There could be a few reasons for this.  The Pittsburgh Pirates are coming off of a losing season.  Trade rumors this offseason regarding Andrew McCutchen have put a bad taste in the mouths of fans.  What about that second starting pitcher?  What about spending more money?

In general, a lot of fans seem cynical about the upcoming season as many don’t think upper management is truly committed to fielding a winner.  What a time to be alive.

Let us reminisce to simpler times.  Times where fans could buy a ticket for less than $10 on the weekends.  Times where the stadium skyline was a selling point and the team was just a novelty.

A look back: 2010

Coming off a 17th straight losing season, the Pittsburgh Pirates were more than primed for loser number 18.  In his third season as Pirates general manager, Neal Huntingdon was in the midst of tearing down the team and starting from scratch.

2010 was the scratch.

Key offseason moves

• Aki Iwamura was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitcher Jesse Chavez in November of 2009 to play second base until Neil Walker was ready to be called up mid-season.  He hit .182/.292/.267 in 193 plate appearances with the team.  Iwamura was waived in the middle of June despite being the team’s highest paid position player.
• Reliever Octavio Dotel signed as a free agent with the Pirates and performed well enough to become a nice trade chip.  After recording 21 saves in Pittsburgh, Dotel was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for starting pitcher James McDonald and 1B/OF Andrew Lambo.  The trade ended up being a successful one for the Pirates.
• Bench players Ryan Church and Bobby Crosby were added to the team to provide depth.  Crosby hit .224/.301/.295 in 175 plate appearances while Church hit .182/.240/.312 in 183.

Storylines going into the 2010 season

• Having a lackluster lineup, the Pittsburgh Pirates were going to rely on the likes of Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, and Ross Ohlendorf to anchor the starting rotation.  This did not work out as the trio combined to go 18-41 with only Ohlendorf recording an ERA under five.
• With Andrew McCutchen poised for his second season, another slew of prospects were due in 2010.  Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez, and Jose Tabata were all called up to the Pirates during summer months.  Walker led the team in slugging % at .462.  Alvarez was second slugging .461.  McCutchen third at .449.  Tabata also had a productive season hitting .299/.346/.400 while swiping a career high 19 bags.
• After being acquired through trades in 2009, LF Lastings Milledge, SS Ronny Cedeno, and 1B Jeff Clement were given a chance in Pittsburgh after struggling with their previous teams.  These were young buy low candidates with potential to break out.  That was not the case.  Milledge hit .277/.332/.380 in 412 plate appearances while Cedeno hit .256/.293/.382 in 502 proving to be not terrible but not good either.  Clement on the other hand hit .201/.237/.368 in 154 plate appearances.

The season itself

• The Pirates would go on to lose 105 games, third most in franchise history and the most since 1952.
• The team payroll sat at just under $35 million.  Clayton Kershaw will make $35.5 million in 2017.
• Andrew McCutchen led the team with a 3.8 WAR.  He is the only current Pirate that played for the 2010 team.
• Evan Meek was the team’s only All-Star representative.  He finished second on the team in WAR at 2.6.  In 80 innings pitched, he recorded a 2.14 ERA with 70 strikeouts and 31 walks.
• Brian Burres threw 79.1 innings, sixth among starting pitchers on the team.  His 4.99 ERA was third best among those six and better than the likes of Charlie Morton (7.57), Zach Duke (5.72), and Paul Maholm (5.10).  Burres did not pitch beyond the 2011 season.
• Ross Ohlendorf led starting pitchers with a 4.07 ERA.  He finished with a record of 1-11.
• 1B/OF Garrett Jones led the team with 21 home runs.  Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez tied for second with 16.
• As a whole, the 2010 team hit .242/.304/.373.  Just for reference, the 2016 team hit .257/.332/.402.
• The 2010 team finished with an ERA of 5.00.  In 2016, the team ERA was 4.21.
• This was John Russell‘s third and final season as the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He finished with a record of 186-299 in his tenure.

Final thoughts…

2010 was the last truly horrible season for the Pittsburgh Pirates under GM Neal Huntington.  2011 and 2012 resulted in losing seasons yes, but fans were given a glimpse of hope as the Pirates were at least competitive for a majority of those seasons.  2013-15 were playoff seasons.  Last year was a losing season.

I don’t know if the Pittsburgh Pirates will be a World Series contender in 2017.  Many wish the payroll was higher and sometimes yearn for a high profile signing or trade acquisition.

That is entirely fair.

At the same time, they should appreciate what has been built under the leadership of Neal Huntington.  The Pirates were nothing but a joke for a long time.

While they have not yet won a playoff series and have been stymied over the past three years, the club has come a long, long way.