Baseball season has begun after a long delay, and fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates do not know if that is something to look forward to. Let’s face it. The Pirates have been straight-up awful for a decent amount of time, and it truly is disgusting to see what has been happening at PNC Park over the past many years. 

2018 is the last time the franchise had a winning record (82-79). Last year, the team finished with a record of 61-101, which is not even close to playoff contention. The year before that, during the pandemic, the season came to an end early, but the team’s record paused at 19-41. The records speak for themselves and prove that this franchise has been a disgrace for some time. 

The Pirates are currently 15-19 this season and several of the losses have looked horrendous. It does not seem to be each loss that is disappointing, but it is the way that this team loses that gets fans’ attention. The effort does not seem to be there at nights, and that will only hurt them as they try to turn the page. 

On April 23, the Pittsburgh Pirates took on the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. I was watching the game, hoping there was a chance I could see some inspiring baseball from the Pirates. I turned off my television immediately after the second inning. The Chicago Cubs were leading with a score of 9-0 by the end of the second inning.

Now, that is bad enough, but it gets even worse.

The Pirates left Wrigley Stadium, suffering the loss without a single run and allowing 21 from the Cubs. This loss, with the season just having started, was the worst in franchise history. With the way they were playing, I felt like I might as well be put on the team because they looked egregious.

However, the Pirates did bounce back against the Cubs the next day 4-3. The only problem is that this just highlights the inconsistency of this team, just like in past years. They look solid at times, and then look like a Little League team at other times.

I go back to the moments when players like Neil Walker, Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, and Josh Harrison made noise in Major League Baseball. They actually made the city of Pittsburgh proud with their ability to win consistently, and they put effort in every night. I used to have friends over to watch them, as they always were exciting.

Can I do that now? Absolutely not. 

With a mediocre start to the season and nearly 35 games in, the Pirates hope they can turn their story around after years of struggles. It will come down to putting in their best effort every single night and reducing the length of losing streaks. 15-19 is not the worst record in the league, but it does show that they are struggling to be even an average team. 

Do I believe that this team can become above average? Unfortunately, nope. I believe the Pirates are going to be exactly what they were last year, and until the team creates a change in their culture overall, there will not be any need for fans to tune in to games.