As a Pittsburgh Pirates fan who is younger than 50-years-old, there has not been a lot of marquee moments from the club in my lifetime. While it was incredible watching the Pirates return to the postseason and earn an NL Wild Card win over the rival Cincinnati Reds, I’ve gotta say it just wasn’t enough. After that brief run of success that the team had in the early 2010’s, the organization dismantled the core of players that I grew up loving. It was devastating watching Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte be traded away, and for a long time, it was hard to watch the Pirates at all.
My love for baseball was reignited by becoming a writer for Bucs Dugout in September of 2022, but 2023 is the year that permanently changed how I watch baseball. With my first professional writing job came a new responsibility to follow baseball as closely as possible, which in a way is not a responsibility at all. Getting to write about baseball and cover the Pittsburgh Pirates was like a dream come true, and while it was shaky at first, it has become one of the greatest joys in my life.
At the turn of the New Year in 2023, it felt like Pittsburgh was turning back the clock by signing McCutchen to a one-year deal and officially reuniting the best Pirate of the 21st century with the city that he became a star in. Driving through the city at the time and seeing the signs donning the simple but powerful phrase “He’s back” was incredible. Getting to have a second chance at seeing my favorite Pirate back in Pittsburgh was an incredible way to start 2023.
At the time, Pittsburgh had so many exciting up and coming players to pay attention to as well. I was very pumped for the tandem of third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and then shortstop Oneil Cruz, citing them as a combo that could be as exciting in baseball as Ghostface Killah and Raekwon the Chef are in hip-hop. I was very high on one of the best pitching prospects in Pittsburgh’s system, Quinn Priester, and raced home from work to see him make his debut in July of that year. Endy Rodriguez had yet to make his MLB debut but was impressing in the Minor Leagues, and Luis Ortiz was still just an exciting starter and not under FBI indictment for rigging pitches. Needless to say, I didn’t and still do not have a crystal ball.
Looking back, the team as a whole was not that good. The Pirates finished with a 78-86 season, which had them at fourth in the NL Central, but at least it was not another 100-loss season. All things considered, it was an improvement. Even though the team finished poorly, there were some fun milestones that were fun to write about and watch throughout the season. McCutchen recorded his 2000th hit that year as fans got a fond glimpse of the past by the way he turned back the clock for the Buccos. Fans also got a glimpse into the future, as Pittsburgh selected pitcher Paul Skenes first overall in the 2023 draft. It took very little time for fans to see how impactful a draft pick of that magnitude would be, as Skenes made his MLB the very next season. I hope and pray that the Pirates don’t mess that up.
Although I was excited to have ‘Cutch back in Pittsburgh, it ultimately didn’t result in anything for the Pirates other than having a childhood favorite back on the squad. They didn’t make the postseason, they didn’t play in any high stakes games and they finished right where many expected them to. Despite my hometown team not performing very well, I got to watch my nation’s team on the biggest stage in the most exciting contest I’ve ever witnessed as a baseball fan.
The 2023 World Baseball Classic set the sport ablaze. For the first time in the tournament’s history, it really felt like every country that participated was bringing their absolute best, and for Team USA that was a very exciting time. I was in the middle of my enlistment in the Air Force and having always had immense love and pride for my country, I was dialed in when the WBC games started. Team USA had a mythical Avengers-like lineup. Mike Trout served as the team’s captain and primary recruiter. Trout brought on fellow All-Stars like Trea Turner, Mookie Betts, Kyle Schwarber and even then Pirate David Bednar.
Team USA was stacked, but so was the rest of the competition. In the quarterfinal game against Venezuela, the Americans were on the ropes down by two in the eighth inning. Team USA had the bases loaded when Trea Turner came to the plate. With an 0-2 count Turner turns on an 86mph pitch that soared over the wall for a team USA grand slam. That single hit is one of the greatest highlights I have ever seen as a sports fan. Team USA would eventually go on to lose to Team Japan in the finals, but that game had all the ingredients that make up a good heavyweight slug fest. It was baseball at the highest level on the world stage with America coming up just short, but make no mistake we will be back.
As a kid, I grew up loving playing baseball in the backyard and on my neighborhood teams. I grew up loving the fun Pittsburgh teams that brought a buzz for baseball back to the Steel City. I hated watching those teams be dismantled, and I had a hard time with not loving playing the game anymore as a high schooler. As an adult and a young Airman away from my friends and family, I fell back in love with baseball by getting to write about it and be reconnected to the game and community that I grew up loving. That’s the beauty of baseball. At the end of the day it’s just a game, but it’s a game that means so much to so many people for so many reasons. 2023 was just another year for the Pirates, but for me it changed how I watch and enjoy baseball for the rest of my life.
Tell us in the comments, what year permanently changed the way you watched baseball.
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