Pirates yet again nearing the end of another sub .500 season

For Pittsburgh Pirates fans before the 2025 Major League Baseball season began, we all were pretty confident this year’s team would not be competing for a playoff spot. In the last 25 years, there have only been three playoff seasons, and they all were back-to-back. The Bucs have not finished above .500 with a winning record since 2018. That was eight seasons ago and the team barely finished above the even mark winning 82 games and losing 79. 

Not since the last time they were in the postseason in 2015 has the team had a solid winning record. That year their final mark was 98-64, which was only good enough for second place in the National League Central division. In the two season before that when they earned a wild card spot just as they did in 2015, the final won/loss records were 88-74 and 94-68, respectively. Again, in 2013 and 2014 second place was the best the team could do.

Looking ahead to future seasons, we can rest assured this team will probably not compete for a wild card spot and with how good the Milwaukee Brewers are a division title is most definitely out of the question for years to come. Most Pirates fans will place the blame on owner Bob Nutting for either not spending money in free agency or selling the team to a new owner who will open his wallet. 

This season was supposed to be a big year for Paul Skenes. Coming off a season in which he was named National League Rookie of the Year, as of this writing the kid’s record is an even 10-10 and he has once again suffered from lack of offensive support. His ERA leads the league at 2.03 and he has struck out 209 batters in 181 2/3 innings. Another pitcher who was supposed to be the next Paul Skenes is Bubba Chandler. He finally got the call to the bigs and has his bubble burst quickly. In five games with two starts, Chandler has a bloated ERA of 5.66, his record is 2-1, and he’s thrown in just 20 2/3 innings giving up 20 hits, 13 earned runs, two home runs, and struck out 19. 

The last 25 years, minus those three playoff season has been dismal. Over the course of the last 25 years, the Pirates have won 1,832 games but lost 2,264 for a winning percentage of .447. If you take away the three playoff seasons, the winning percentage drops to .434. Just for giggles (or perhaps some pain), here is a comparison to the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers over the last 25 years, a team that has money to spend.

In the last 25 years, the Dodgers have won 2,325 games losing 1,776. That represents 493 more victories than Pittsburgh has won. L.A.’s winning percentage during this period has been .567 or .12 better than the Pirates. Even more disturbing is the fact that in the last 25 years, the Dodgers have been in the playoffs 16 times with two world championships and two other World Series performances. In that time, they have reached the league championship series five times and made the divisional round seven times. For Dodger Blue fans, they know every year they are going to compete. Not the Pirates. 

As for Pittsburgh’s last 25 years and seasonal records, there have been four 100 loss seasons with the high coming in 2010 when the Buccos lost 105 games winning just 57 while obviously finishing last in the division 34 games behind first. This season they are currently 28 ½ games behind in the basement and could match their 25 year high of 34 as indicated came in 2010 but in 2021 the Pirates also went home after the season having been 34 games behind in last place again. In 2004 the team finished 32 ½ games back but surprisingly were in fifth place and not in last.

Since taking over for the fired Derek Shelton, the current Pirates skipper is Pittsburgh native Don Kelly who has not changed the Bucs’ losing ways. Thus far he has led the Bucs to a 53-62 record and like those before him will finish with a record under .500. Who came before he and Shelton? Shelton managed the team from 2020 until this season when he was let go. His record as team skipper was 306-440 or a winning percentage of .410. Clint Hurdle preceded Shelton and is the only manager in the last 25 years to have a won/loss percentage above .500.

Clint Hurdle is also the manager of record for the three playoff appearances. Overall, his teams won 735 games, losing 720. Before Hurdle was John Russell who spent three seasons on the bench winning 186 games and losing 299 for a percentage of .384. After Lloyd McClendon was sent packing, Pete Mackanin became interim manager until Russell took the reins and even in 26 games Mackanin lost 14 of the 26 games he managed.

In the first year of the last 25 years, 2000, Gene Lamont was the Pirates skipper and, like the others, had a losing record at 69-93. Prior to 2000, Lamont was responsible for a team that posted records of 78-83, 69-93, and 79-83 counting back from 1999 to Lamont’s first year in 1997. 

Having grown up in the 1970s I supposed I was one of the thousands of sports from that era who grew up in the ‘Burgh that were spoiled. We have the four Super Bowl titles by the Steelers and two World Series champs by the Pirates. As I got my start with the Pirates during the 1971 World Series watching my hero Roberto Clemente help the team to a title, from 1970 to 1979 the Bucs finished first in the National League East division six times in 10 seasons, and second place three times. The only other finish saw them in third place. In those 10 seasons there was NEVER a losing season. So, the older generation Pirates fan expect a winner. 

It's been 46 years since the Pirates’ last World Series title, and it may be another 46 before we see another. Some of the heroes of that “We are Family” World Series team in 1979 are no longer with us, namely Dave “The Cobra” Parker who passed away this year. Willie Stargell, the captain of that team, passed years ago. It’s hard to believe that Kent Tekulve, the ace relief pitcher of that team, is now 78 years old. 



To sum it all up, in the last 25 years, the Pittsburgh Pirates have never finished first; they came in second just twice; third place happened only once; but on eight different occasions, the team finished fourth and fifth for 16 total seasons. In another six seasons, the Pirates were in the basement looking up…way up. Do we have something to look forward to in 2026? Very little.