The 1987 Pittsburgh Pirates Improve In Jim Leyland’s 2nd Year
Read the season-long narrative of how the 1987 Pittsburgh Pirates, after two terrible years, made a big jump forward and set the stage for bigger things ahead.
Read the season-long narrative of how the 1987 Pittsburgh Pirates, after two terrible years, made a big jump forward and set the stage for bigger things ahead.
The 1986 Pittsburgh Pirates represented the start of a new era. Chuck Tanner’s nine-year tenure as manager–one that included a World Series title in 1979–had come crashing down in a 1985 season that saw the team lose 104 games on the field and go through embarrassing drug revelations off it, came to an end. Jim […]
The 1984-90 run in old Shea Stadium was the best in Mets history. The 1990 team was the last edition of those excellent teams. Here’s their story.
1984 marked the end of a long run of baseball success in Pittsburgh, as the Pirates had their first losing season in a full 162-game schedule since 1968. The 1985 Pittsburgh Pirates slammed the door on anyone who doubted that an era was over–the franchise suffered its worst season in over thirty years on the […]
Where the 1984 Pittsburgh Pirates were at in the historical arc of their franchise was a pertinent question coming into the season. They won the World Series as recently as 1979. Their only losing season since 1968 was in the strike-shortened year of 1981. They had been in first place as late as September in […]
The Pirates came into 1983 just four years removed from a memorable World Series championship run. In two of the previous three years they had been in first place as late as September before coming up short. The 1983 Pittsburgh Pirates continued that pattern. They were competitive and they gave fans hope, but they came […]
The strike year of 1981 hadn’t gone well in Pittsburgh After a decade of contending teams, including a recent World Series title in 1979, the Pirates were looking to get back in the hunt. For the most part, they did. But an August fade set a tone that the 1980s would not be as positive […]
The 1980s era of major league baseball was marked by stirring stretch drives and heart-stopping finishes. Here are the nine best.
The 1981 Pittsburgh Pirates were just two years removed from winning the World Series and ending a decade of tremendous success. Just one year earlier they had been in first place in early September before a late fade did them in. The 1981 team struggled to find its footing early, were interrupted by a players’ […]
The Pittsburgh Pirates were the NL East’s flagship franchise of the 1970s. They won the division six times in that decade. Nine times they won at least 88 games. Two World Series trophies came to the Steel City—a pair of triumphs over the nearby Baltimore Orioles, including one to end the decade in 1979. The […]
The Boston Red Sox endured their fair share of heartbreaking finishes through an 86-year championship drought. One thing they often did was make credible bounceback efforts. The one-game playoff loss to the Yankees of 1978 was followed up by 91 wins in 1979. The 2003 devastation at the hands of the Yanks was followed by […]
The 1984 New York Mets came into the season as the heir to hard times. The franchise had captivated baseball in 1969 with their miracle run to a World Series title. A subsequent 1973 run to the National League pennant was almost as shocking. But after winning seasons in 1975-76, the franchise had fallen and […]