{"id":660525,"date":"2026-04-03T08:51:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T08:51:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/660525\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T08:51:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T08:51:50","slug":"pittsburgh-pirates-start-home-opener-at-412-pm-for-area-code","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/660525\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh Pirates Start Home Opener at 4:12 PM for Area Code"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"submission-link-wrapper\"><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Pittsburgh%2C+PA&amp;city=Pittsburgh&amp;type=Update+Existing+Story&amp;headline=Pittsburgh+Pirates+Start+Home+Opener+at+4%3A12+PM+for+Area+Code&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Fpa%2Fpittsburgh%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F03%2Fpittsburgh-pirates-start-home-opener-at-4-12-pm-for-area-code%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69cf2a742228f.jpg\" alt=\"A cubist-style painting featuring sharp, overlapping geometric shapes in the colors of the Pittsburgh Pirates, capturing the energy and movement of a baseball game in an abstract, deconstructed style.\" width=\"1344\" height=\"768\" class=\"news-image\"\/>The Pirates&#8217; unique home opener tradition celebrates the team&#8217;s connection to the city of Pittsburgh.Today in Pittsburgh<\/p>\n<p>The Pittsburgh Pirates have a unique tradition of starting their home openers at 4:12 PM, a nod to the city&#8217;s 412 area code. This quirky start time has become a beloved part of the Pirates&#8217; home opener festivities, with fans eagerly anticipating the debut of the team&#8217;s top prospect Konnor Griffin.<\/p>\n<p>      Why it matters<\/p>\n<p>The Pirates&#8217; 4:12 PM start time is a fun, community-driven tradition that connects the team to its local fanbase. In a sport where many teams struggle to build lasting traditions, Pittsburgh&#8217;s commitment to honoring its area code is a creative way to build team identity and pride.<\/p>\n<p>            The details<\/p>\n<p>The Pirates have started their home openers at 4:12 PM for years, a nod to the city&#8217;s 412 area code. This unusual start time has become an anticipated part of the home opener experience, with fans gathering to watch the game and celebrate the team&#8217;s connection to the city.<\/p>\n<p>      The Pittsburgh Pirates play their home opener on Friday, April 3, 2026.The game will start at 4:12 PM local time.<\/p>\n<p>            What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-quote\">\u201cThanks to Konnor Griffin I learned the Pirates start their home openers at 4:12 in honor of their area code and I have been trying to think which team would have it worst if all teams were required to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-cite\">\u2014 Chelsea Janes, Sports Writer<\/p>\n<p>            What\u2019s next<\/p>\n<p>Fans will be eager to see if top prospect Konnor Griffin can live up to the hype in his MLB debut during the Pirates&#8217; home opener.<\/p>\n<p>        The takeaway<\/p>\n<p>The Pirates&#8217; unique 4:12 PM home opener start time is a fun, community-driven tradition that helps build team identity and pride in Pittsburgh. In a sport seeking to connect more with local fans, the Pirates&#8217; commitment to honoring their area code is a creative example other teams could follow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a The Pirates&#8217; unique home opener tradition celebrates the team&#8217;s connection&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660528,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2402],"tags":[5,4,10,776,64,4297],"class_list":{"0":"post-660525","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-pirates","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-pirates","11":"tag-pittsburgh","12":"tag-pittsburgh-pirates","13":"tag-pittsburghpirates"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116339933088520840","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}