Fans haved endured decade of losing at PNC Park
PITTSBURGH – Remember back in the day when the Pirates said that a new ballpark was the only way they could stay in Pittsburgh and be competitive? They were only telling half the truth.
Despite overwhelming resistance by the taxpayers of Allegheny County, PNC Park got built primarily with public fans. True to their word, the Pirates have stayed in Pittsburgh.
The part of being competitive, though, has become a total joke. The Pirates have marked their 10th season at PNC Park by losing 100 games.
Loss No. 100 came Friday night with a 10-7 loss to the Houston Astros with the Pirates showcasing their awful pitching staff. James McDonald needed 42 pitches just to get through the first inning and a parade of relievers stunk up the joint. It was a fitting way to reach triple digits in the defeat column.
What has truly made the PNC Park Era remarkable for the Pirates is the sheer volume of losing.
They have lost at least 87 games in each of their 10 seasons in the facility, meaning the closest they’ve been to .500 in that time is 12 games under. They’ve lost at least 89 games every other year, at least 95 games six times and this year’s 100-loss season nicely bookends the history of the stadium as the Pirates christened PNC Park with triple-digit defeats in the inaugural 2001 season.
Of course, all those time getting beaten have pushed the Pirates’ streak of consecutive losing seasons to 18. That has allowed them to add to their major North American professional sports record of sub-.500 seasons that they established last season.
Who knew that those times back in the concrete bowl that was Three Rivers Stadium like 1997 when the Pirates went 79-83 and 1999 when they finished 78-83 would be considered the good old days?
While PNC Park can certainly be dubbed the House of Losing, as far as owner Bob Nutting is concerned, PNC Park is the House of Profit.
The Pirates play their final home game this afternoon when they face the Astros and their season attendance will wind up being over 1.6 million. The Pirates have drawn at least 1.57 million in each of their 10 seasons at PNC Park, a tribute to the beauty and fan-friendliness of the facility
Considering the Pirates have the lowest payroll in the major leagues and receive a ton of money through Major League Baseball’s revenue-sharing system, they will turn a tidy profit in 2010 after making at least a combined $35 million over the previous three years.
After all, making a profit, not winning baseball games, is the reason the Pittsburgh Pirates are in business these days.
Herald-Standard sports correspondent John Perrotto is editor-in-chief of BaseballProspectus.com.