I love the place. I watched it being built, had an office in it when it opened, and still marvel at it every time I see it from afar. I’ve gone to two games in two years, both free, and I purchased only a couple of beers inside the place.
This season, one that appears to be the cheapest in about 12 or so years, I have no plans for going to a game, and based on the ball club’s attendance records, many Pirate fans will join me in front of television sets instead of taking the family out to the ballpark for hot dogs and Cracker Jacks. Winning is fun (and you certainly recall the cha-ching of those cash registers, right?) but losing, especially 93 times in a single season, silences us and robs us of our appetite for spending that kind of money.
And year after year since the National League Wild Card loss to the Cubs in 2015, the big-league team has struggled to compete, and salary dumping trades have rendered jersey after jersey useless. Gerrit Cole. Andrew McCutcheon. Tyler Glasnow, Josh Harrison. Mark Melancon. Francisco Cervelli. And now Starling Marte, the Gold Glove outfielder who put up his best overall numbers last season.
Did the deal make sense? Since a Triple-A roster in the big leagues seems to make sense to this owner and front office, then sadly, the transaction does just as it once did to an ownership group in the early 1990s. After losing the NLCS three times in a row, a gutting took place before a group front-manned by Kevin McClatchy bought it on Feb. 14, 1996.
In 1997, the Pittsburgh Pirates featured a $9.5 million team payroll, the league’s lowest, yes, but it was the beginning of a rebuilding phase guided by former general manager Cam Bonifay. But not until 16 years later did the Pirates finally fracture a 20-year losing streak and a 21-year postseason drought with a 94-68 campaign and a Wild Card win over the Reds. The Bucs then lost in the division series to the Cardinals, 3-2, but the success awoke the sleeping giant that was a mostly dormant Pirates fan base.
But 16 years? Again? That’s not going to work, not only for us but for you, too. Consider your current demographics in your sales areas:
- You’ve lost the Baby Boomers.
- Older GenXers remember the 1970s – six division titles and two World Championships – and you have lost us, too.
- Even the younger members of that generation were teased with the success in the early 1990s only to have that enthusiasm squelched by 20 years of blah.
- And now, you are left with the Millennials, a generation whose members are not herded as fans once were. Winning, in fact, does not guarantee they will come.
It’s not that my love for the Pittsburgh Pirates has waned, and I will forever cherish getting to know my heroes Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski, Steve Blass, Bob Walk, Manny Sanguillen, Dave Parker, John Smiley, Bob Friend, Lloyd McClendon, Kent Tekulve, Dave Parker, Chuck Tanner, and Jim Leyland. Each one of those men had a thirst for success, and that is why they experienced success during their playing or coaching careers.
It’s that thirst that’s worth fandom and attendance, but without it, there’s salary dumping, last-place finishes, and a distinct lack of a commitment to winning.
That’s not worth my money, in Pittsburgh anyway, and that is why we have traveled to other cities to see the team play. To us, it’s the better alternative instead of handing over hard-earned cash to an owner apparently not interested in competing in the National League Central Division. Plus, that way, we at least get to watch one big-league ball club play in its home ballpark.
The solution? It’s simple, really.
For me to get off my wallet, the owner will have to get off his.
