(Photo by Matt Freed/Associated Press)

It’s the same thing we all keep coming back to. The Pirates were once 20-8. They were exciting to watch, fun to root for, and a shock to the baseball world. 

Ever since, that joy has been long gone, and after back to back 100+ loss seasons, the 2023 season is proving to provide almost the same amount of pain that Pirates fans have had to unfairly endure for years on end. 

Whether you were someone who was tricked by the Pirates’ amazing opening month to 2023, or someone who believed it was a fluke and they would collapse, it certainly was a fun few weeks to be a Pirates fan. And as the season drags on and the Pirates continue to just get worse and worse, I thought now was as good a time as any to look back on the better times. 

So let’s all travel back in time…to April of 2023. 

A Season Opener Win In Cincinnati

Ok, I lied a bit, we’re starting out on the last day of March. On a beautiful day in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Pirates took on the Reds to open the 2023 season. 

The Pirates got the year started off on the right foot, winning a tight 5-4 game against the Reds against the Reds’ new young phenom on the mound, Hunter Greene. Andrew McCutchen drew a walk in his first at bat since rejoining the Pirates, and in a fun piece of trivia (with bonus points for spelling), relief pitcher Rob Zastryzny was credited with the win. 

Pirates Sweep Red Sox In Fenway

During their next series, this time up in Boston, the Pirates were set to face off against the Red Sox in historic Fenway Park. You would have been hard pressed to find anyone who picked the Pirates to sweep the Red Sox in Fenway, but that’s exactly what the Pirates did. 

They won game one despite giving up five runs in the first inning, winning 7-6, and won games two and three identically, 4-1. 

Major League Baseball had started to take notice of the Pirates’ very early (and later proven to be flukey) success, and after sweeping Boston, they were finally coming home for their first home game of 2023, and one particularly special moment. 

Andrew McCutchen’s Homecoming

It was the moment everyone had been waiting for. It didn’t matter if you were lucky enough to be at the ballpark or watching on tv. It didn’t matter if you were a Pirates fan or a baseball enjoyer. 

PNC Park had been abuzz all day, excitedly waiting for whatever chance they could find to cheer for McCutchen’s mere presence at the park. 

Finally, in the bottom of the first inning, Andrew McCutchen was up to bat. A raucous crowd poured cheers of love towards an emotional McCutchen, who had to be granted extra time before his at bat due to all the cheering. His homecoming had fixed the last five years of what was a crime in baseball: McCutchen in a non-Pirates jersey. 

And in the most storybook style event, McCutchen got a hit on that at bat, sending the crowd into a frenzy once again. (Let’s forget the part where he was caught trying to steal second base shortly afterwards). 

The Pirates would win that game 13-9, and take two of three in the series against the Chicago White Sox. 

Pirates’ Bats Explode, Demolish Reeling Rockies

Times were scary after O’Neil Cruz’s injury during the White Sox , later revealed to be a fractured ankle that would keep him out months. The Pirates had lost a series to the World Series winner Houston Astros, and were only able to split against the St. Louis Cardinals. 

Pittsburgh was having a real tough time replacing the production that they were counting on from the now injured Cruz, but in Colorado, the hitter’s ballpark if you will, those fortunes changed. 

The Pirates rattled off nine runs in the first three innings of game one, en route to a 14-3 beatdown of the Rockies. After a modest 5-3 victory the next day, the Pirates returned to demolition mode, winning 14-3 again (this time, nine runs scored in the first two innings). 

Pirates Sweep Reds, The Winning Streak Hits Seven

With confidence gained and momentum built from two double digit wins in three days, the Pirates returned home to receive a visit from the Reds. 

Though the games were much closer than against the Rockies, the Pirates found ways to continue to win. Four straight, closely contested games all went the Pirates way as Pittsburgh suddenly saw themselves on a seven game win streak. 

David Bednar continued to rack up saves as the Pirates marched on, continuing  to shock baseball fans. 

The seven game win streak had also propelled Pittsburgh to the title of division leader by day’s end after the seventh straight win. 

The city was alive with baseball excitement. The Pirates were the talk of the town, and for once, the talk was good. It also helped that the Penguins had fumbled their way out of a playoff spot, meaning the sports crowd in Pittsburgh now had more time to watch the Pirates. 

Momentum Continues, Pirates Take Series Against Dodgers

The excitement only continued to grow as the Pirates continued to win, taking the series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Even though game one had snapped Pittsburgh’s winning streak, the Pirates rebounded rather nicely, winning 8-1 and 6-2 the following two days to claim the series win. 

Bucco fever had overtaken the optimistic and cheery parts of the Pirates fan base, and for the first time in years, watching Pirates baseball could actually be fun. Imagine that!

Drew Maggi Gets Long Awaited Moment In Rout Of Nationals

To open up their series in Washington against the Nationals, the Bucs and Nats were slated to play a Saturday double-header. The Pirates took game one by a respectable score of 6-3, but game two was a whole nother beast. 

To put Pittsburgh at 20-8, the height of this (mostly) painful 2023 campaign, the Pirates beat the Nationals 16-1. SIXTEEN RUNS. During that game, Drew Maggi, the man who spent 13 years in the minor leagues, had got the moment he’d been waiting for his whole life: his first career MLB hit. 

With the win, the Pirates had become the first NL team to reach 20 wins. It was peak Pirates baseball, and on that Sunday, not yet knowing it, the Pirates stood at the best point of the season. 

And so my friends, we’ve come near to the end of our journey back in time. 

Very sadly (and to some, predictably), it would only go downhill from here. Slow at first, as if the wagon that was rolling down said hill needed a push to get going. But that wagon picked up speed in a hurry, and as it did, it also was lit on fire. 

We all know what has happened since then. Now back to their usual selves, well under .500 and in the basement of the NL Central, fans might as well start looking ahead to 2024 and preparing the annual phrase: “maybe next year.”