PNC Park Deserves Better Than the Pittsburgh Pirates

PNC Park is widely considered one of the most beautiful ballparks in Major League Baseball—but for most of its existence, it’s been home to one of the sport’s most frustrating franchises. In this baseball video essay, I break down the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 25-year history at PNC Park, from prolonged losing seasons and questionable ownership decisions to brief playoff success and the hope of a brighter future. We’ll examine the Pirates’ on-field results, controversial trades, payroll decisions, and whether recent roster moves and young stars like Paul Skenes signal real progress.

0:00 Why PNC Park Is One of MLB’s Best Ballparks
1:34 The Pirates Arrive at PNC Park (2001)
2:29 A Decade of Losing and a Brief Window of Contention
3:50 How Bad Have the Pirates Really Been?
5:32 Ownership, Payroll, and Cost-Cutting
7:08 Bad Trades and Missed Picks
8:23 Paul Skenes and the Pirates’ Future

Background music, sound effects and more used in this video have been downloaded from Motion Array as a paid user. Discover Motion Array’s incredible database by visiting my referral link at: https://motionarray.com/refer-to-friend/2e6cb2-hHRN

Articles Referenced:
Rowdy Released (Sportsnet): https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/pirates-release-veterans-tellez-and-taylor-to-make-way-for-prospects/

Rowdy Released (ESPN): https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/41422039/eliminated-pirates-dfa-veterans-rowdy-tellez-michael-taylor

Pirates Fire Huntington: https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/report-pirates-fire-general-manager-neal-huntington/

MLB Farm System Rankings: https://www.mlb.com/news/farm-system-rankings-2025-midseason

Naylor Offer: https://tinyurl.com/ysps42b8

Schwarber Offer: https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/report-pirates-make-offer-to-free-agent-kyle-schwarber/

Statistics, data, and results gathered from MLB (https://www.mlb.com/), Baseball Savant (https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/), The Baseball Cube (https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/mlb/), Baseball Reference, (https://www.baseball-reference.com/), Stathead (https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/baseball/) and Fangraphs (https://www.fangraphs.com/)

Copyright Disclaimer:
Some images and video clips in this video are used under Fair Use for commentary, criticism, reporting, teaching, research, education, and entertainment. All rights belong to their original owners, and we at Stand-Up Double Baseball make no claim of ownership.

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5 comments

  2. Indianapolis has their AAA team the Indians at Victory Field. One of the best minor league venues out there. It’s a shame there is never anyone to watch and when there is, they are most certainly going to get traded. It’s hard to follow an organization when it’s a revolving door.

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