TWB: The Pittsburgh Pirates

[ifspuds]

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

that's why I like to talk trash, because history is my ally

on a serious note this should be a really fun month to see what happens. Loyalioty to my old team, or loyality to my ancestors...either way, I win

If you keep reminding me of the fifties, I'll be quite happy to send your loyalty as far away from me as I can get.

[canadiancreed]

Originally Posted by ifspuds

If you keep reminding me of the fifties, I'll be quite happy to send your loyalty as far away from me as I can get.

hehehe jsut helping to keep you grounded

[ifspuds]

The Pirates (75-41) roll into the last half of August with a 3.5-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds (73-46) for first place in the National League. 46 games remain for the Pirates to hold on and win their first pennant since the 1912 season.

What do the next one and a half months look like for the Pirates?

Busy.

The Pirates will play the next 23 days without an off-day, including series against Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Chicago and the resurgent Cardinals, who have won 13 straight games to climb within 7 games of the top slot despite trading off their slugging outfielder Jim Alan and starting catcher Chris Bland. Only two head-to-head series against Cincinnati remain on the schedule, so taking at least 2 of 3 in the upcoming series would go a long way toward nailing it down.

Who's fueling the charge these days? Let's take a quick look at the numbers.

The offense is still headed up by Alberto Val, though he's still recovering from a very cold (.194/.281/.291) July. August seems to have woken his bat back up so far (.383/.442/.660) and he's posting a very respectable .291/.393/.490 line. Tim Crusher is starting to capitalize on his tremendous talent, hitting .253/.331/.517 and has already set a career high with 19 homers. The real surprise of the team has been the play of 2nd-year left fielder Al "Bash" Mahoney, who has hit an astounding .467/.469/.622 so far this month and has a season mark of .328/.358/.477. Longtime readers may remember that Mahoney came over in the trade that brought George Adkison to the Pirates, and took forever to make his way through the minors. Not to be forgotten is first sacker Fletcher Jones, who leads the NL with 95 RBI and is on a pace to break the Pirates team record for home runs in a season (Ben Giordano, 33). He's got 27 longballs so far this season and is hitting .269/.326/.506, easily the best season of his career.

The big news on the offense, however, is the recent trade that brought 6-time All-Star catcher Henry "Gato" Cruz from Baltimore to Pittsburgh for minor leaguers Ken Smolinski (3.5-star CF, .259/.351/.415 at AA, 5/9/9/5/7 talents) and Herb Garder (3-star MR, 3rd round pick in this season's June draft). Cruz has struggled since coming to the National League (.136 in August), but the fans are thrilled that one of the top catchers in the league is calling Forbes Field home.

On the pitching side of the equation, Hipolito Castillo continues to lead the pitching staff. Castillo is 17-5, 2.40 with a 0.95 WHIP, and recently threw back-to-back shutouts. He may not be the frontrunner for the Andrew Murphy award (that will likely go to Cincinnati's Charlie Lendon), but he's at least in the running. Levi Sellers is still rolling along, 17-6, 2.85, but Pirates fans have to be a little concerned about George Adkison (12-5, 3.35) and Jack Hassery (9-9, 3.59), both of whom have the talent to be significantly more dominant than they have been. The 5th starter slot has been a mix of Mike Olinger, who has not been good since coming over from Boston, and Shannon Richardson, who has been much more solid in the role. Richardson may get the nod for the majority of the starts for a little while. The big bullpen trio of Tony Manley (3-1, 2.16), Lynn "Wild Man" Willmon (7-0, 2.43) and Rolf Costanza (2-3, 2.67) has been very reliable as well.

There aren't likely to be many September callups for the Pirates unless the unthinkable happens and the race is over early. A couple of players at AAA earn mention, however. First base prospect Kenny Bluel has had a heck of a season in the minors, hitting .315 across AA and AAA with 41 walks and 27 homers. Fletcher Jones is firmly entrenched at first base, so it's likely Bluel's role is more as trade bait, but the market for first basemen is pretty saturated right now, so time will tell. Harry Cutshall, who has been at AAA since 1962, might be starting to put it all together. He's gone 14-9 with a 3.64 ERA, his best season since 1963. He might get a shot at the #5 slot with a good spring training in 1967.

[ifspuds]

Pirates Take Two of Three in the Queen City, End August in First
by Jack McKinley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

That sigh of relief you hard on August 21st was coming from the vicinity of Cincinnati, exhaled by the entire Pirates team. In the first game of the series, a hard-fought 5-2 decision in game 1 of their 3-game set against the rival Reds, the score had been tied 2-2 going into the bottom of the 8th. Then Levi Sellers realized it was the Reds he was facing, the team that had originally drafted him and a team he's struggled with this season, and the score quickly went to 5-2 in favor of the home Red Legs. It only dropped the Pirates lead in the pennant race to four games, but after the difficulties they'd had against the Reds this season, the prospect of leaving Cincinnati with only a 2-game lead weighed heavily on their minds. Considering that the always-enigmatic Shannon Richardson would draw the start for game 2, the future was very much up in the air.

Richardson put an end to that, however. Rewarding the confidence placed in him by manager Vic Gorin, Richardson went 6 and two-thirds, bending but never breaking. He walked 4 and allowed 4 hits, but struck out nine and the Reds managed just a singleton off the veteran hurler. Lynn Willmon followed with 2 innings of perfect relief, and the lead was back to five games. "This might be one of the most enjoyable wins of my career," said Richardson after the game. "You don't have to tell me what people expect of me. The spirit is always willing, and today, the flesh wasn't weak at all. I'm thrilled to be a part of this team."

It was the third game that turned out to be a classic, pitting George Adkison against Theo Torbett, a pitcher the Pirates had tried to pry loose from the Giants in the offseason, and a pitcher the Pirates have handled well in the past. The Pirates jumped on the board first with a solo home run by Ben Trome, and added a second run in the 6th on a homer off the bat of Alberto Val. Those were just the 3rd and 4th hits the Pirates managed off Torbett, and the last hits they would have until the 9th. The Reds climbed back with a run in the 7th behind a leadoff triple from Claude Roberson and an RBI single from Mark Geil, but Adkison quickly induced a double play grounder and got out of the inning with the lead intact. In the top of the 9th, Asa Booker doubled sharply into the right field corner with one out, and Reds manager Pee Wee Osborne held up four fingers to put Ben Trome on first base. On the surface, a curious move, considering that Fletcher Jones, a strong candidate for Batter of the Year honors in the senior circuit, was due up. Osborne nearly looked like a genius, as Jones rapped a roller up the first base line, but Trome went in hard at second base and the relay to first was a step too late to get the rumbling Jones. Instead of the inning-ending double play, the Pirates had first and third with two outs, and Tim Crusher made the Reds pay with a ringing double past the outstretched glove of first baseman Will Crandall that plated two.

But that wasn't the end.

Adkison came out to put the finishing touches on a sparkling one-run effort and quickly got the first two outs. Roberson touched Adkison for a 2-out double, and Dion Pinelo snuck a high fastball out around the right field foul pole for a two-run longball that brought the Reds within one. Don Shelor followed with a single, and Vic Gorin went out to visit the mercurial Adkison. The conversation was clearly serious, but it ended with Gorin going back to the dugout and Adkison still on the mound. Staring in at Gato Cruz, Adkison shook off one sign before coming with the looping curveball that Cincinnati's Chris Bland rapped out to Alberto Val for the third out and a series win.

The Pirates would play unevenly the rest of the month, but finished August with nearly their biggest lead of the season, a 4.5 game cushion going into the final month of the season. A return engagement with the Reds looms, however, and Forbes Field is expected to be packed for the 3-game series that starts on September 2nd. The expected pitchers are George Adkison, Hipolito Castillo and Jack Hassery, and it would be hard to pick a better trio to pitch the most important games of the season. Hang on tight, Pirates fans.

-----

September 1, 1966
Overall Record: 86-47, 4.5 games ahead of CIN for first place.

Top Hitter: Fletcher Jones is trying to appeal to the voters who love the homers and RBI in their Batter of the Year. While San Francisco's All-Universe outfielder Jed Williams is clearly the best hitter, Jones is 2nd in the league in HR with 32 and 1st in the league with 106 RBI.

Top Pitcher: Hipolito Castillo is trying to catch Charlie Lendon and a cast of others for the Andrew Murphy Award. Castillo leads the NL in wins with 20, his 2nd career 20-win season, is 3rd in ERA with a 2.24, and boasts a nifty 0.94 WHIP.

Injury News: Backup outfielder Beanpole Eshelman is ailing a bit with a sore foot, but he's expected to be fully available for most of the month. The rest of the squad is healthy.

Development News: Nothing of note.

High Points: We gained a game on Cincinnati over the last two weeks. It could have been better, but it's hard to complain about increasing the lead.

Low Points: The last time we were in a real pennant race, we choked. In fact, the last three times we were in a real pennant race, we choked. Call me snakebit if you like, but I remain worried.

[ifspuds]

The Long Wait Is Over
by Jack McKinley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (issue of September 25, 1966)

Chicago, IL:

Levi Sellers stood on the Wrigley Field mound for what would be the last time in the 1966 season. He stood alone, the stadium empty save for a handful of employees sweeping the remains of the day's debris from the aisles. He turned slowly, looking out toward left field, where not too long before, Al Mahoney had squeezed the final out of a masterful 4-hit, 1-walk shutout that gave the Pirates a 6-0 win over the archrival Cubs. The same Cubs who had, in the previous two games of the series, derailed a hot streak that had the Pirates staring their first pennant in 54 years in the face. Levi Sellers wiped his face dry with the sleeve of his shirt, only to find the cloth still drenched. He grinned wide enough to split his face in two. You see, he didn't care. His Pirates were the National League champions.

By virtue of their 6-0 clampdown of the Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds' subsequent defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, the Pittsburgh Pirates clinched their first National League pennant since the days when no one had heard of Oscar Vancini, when the late Bud Breckenridge was just a babe in his mother's arms, when no one had even heard of a World War. Fifty-four long years, a number of close calls and many more disastrous campaigns, and the drought has come to an end.

The Pirates are the National League champions. You will be forgiven if you have to pick yourself up from the floor to read those words again. Believe them. It has finally happened.

The road to the pennant looked infinitely more challenging earlier in September, as the Reds took two of three in Forbes Field, but this team had the intestinal fortitude to take a long hard look at their season and demand the best from one another, to put the hardship behind them and come out with all their guns blazing. If they went down, it would be because the Reds were the better team, because the Reds outplayed them, not because they gave the pennant away. They followed that series loss by taking three of four from the Cubs and two of three from the Cardinals at home before hitting the road for what would be a brutal road swing through Los Angeles, Atlanta and San Francisco before arriving here in Chicago. It started poorly, a 4-3 loss in Los Angeles before they righted things: two of three in Atlanta before a huge four-game sweep of the Giants and a series-opening win in Chicago on the 22nd. By then, just one win and one Reds loss would clinch the pennant. It would take two more days before that happened, but the win was just as sweet.

Even after the shutout tossed by Sellers, the team had to gather around the clubhouse radio to await the results of the game in Cincinnati. Charlie Lendon, Reds ace, was facing off against talented but erratic Paul Iacovetto for the Braves, and by the time the Pirates' contest had come to a triumphant close, the other game was already in the 8th inning with the Braves holding the slenderest of advantages, a 2-1 lead. Iacovetto had allowed just 2 hits, and went into the bottom of the 9th with a chance to make the Pirates champions. The visitors' clubhouse at Wrigley tensed as Cincinnati's Kevin Rebosse led off the inning with a walk, but erupted as Don Shelor followed with the pitcher's best friend, a 6-4-3 twin killing. They would have to wait, however, as the Braves brought in reliever David Monsour to pitch to the final batter, a perennial Pirates nemesis in Sam O'Hara. There would never be a doubt about the outcome, as Monsour pumped a 1-2 fastball past O'Hara to end the game. The celebration was immediate and for all the joy, surprisingly cathartic. There were times that not even the players thought they could ever take this franchise back to the World Series, and the ghosts of Pirates past weighed heavily on their minds.

Shannon Richardson, who had lost a tough 3-1 decision to the Cubs the day before, summed it up best. "This is for Coach Stob and Bud and Ray," he said through showers of spirits both liquid and noncorporeal, naming Pirates legends Jonathan Stobart, Bud Breckenridge and Ray Brown, the latter two passing away within months of each other prior to the '65 season. "I hope they're up there celebrating right along with us. I wish they could be here so we could share it with them."

Let's hope the morning paper finds you recovering from your own celebration, Pirates fans. If any baseball fan in this great, wide nation of ours deserves it, it is undoubtedly you.

I've waited a long time to write these words, so it bears repeating one last time: the Pirates are National League champions. We'll see you in October.

[ifspuds]

Worth the Wait: Pirates Outlast Red Sox in Game 1 Classic
by Jack McKinley
Pittsburgh Post Gazette (issue of October 5, 1966)

The baseball world took some time believing that the Red Sox, who had not won a pennant since 1949, were taking the field in Pittsburgh, where there hadn't been a World Series game played since 1912. So much time, in fact, that these two teams nearly played two full games before the outcome of the first game of the 1966 World Series became known. You wait long enough, you get rewarded with extra baseball, it would seem. In the end, however, the star-crossed Pittsburgh Pirates stunned onlookers and sent fans into a frenzy on a 2-run, game-winning homer off the bat of Al Mahoney in the bottom of the 14th inning.

Levi Sellers and Charley Harrington faced off as the starters in this game, but both men were long gone by the time the winning runs scored. Sellers, the long-time ace of the Pirates' staff, was touched up by the powerful Red Sox offense over the course of 7 innings, allowing three home runs and 5 runs despite walking only one and striking out ten. The Red Sox took a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the 5th, when Pittsburgh's Alberto Val snuck a drive down the right field line that just crept over the outfield fence for a solo homer, but the Sox had answers in the top of the 6th with solo homers from the powerful Jory Akridge and Jim Alan to pad the lead back to 5-1.

That's when the Pirates offense got on track, as Ben Trome led off the bottom half of the 6th with a ringing double off the right field wall. Al Mahoney stepped to the plate next and gave right fielder Jim Alan something else to think about, roping a liner down the line in right that rattled around in the corner, giving Mahoney time to lumber all the way around to third with a run-scoring triple. Harrington settled down after that, fanning both Asa Booker and NL RBI champ Fletcher Jones, but Tim Crusher fought off a tough pitch and dumped an RBI single into center to cut the lead back to 2 runs.

Reenergized, Levi Sellers worked a perfect 1-2-3 7th, highlighted by swinging strikeouts of leadoff man George Adams and phenom Troy Dameron. Alberto Val got things going again in the bottom half, doubling and scoring on pinch-hitter Vic Stokes' 1-out triple. With Trome and Mahoney due up, a tie looked likely, but Red Sox reliever Les Kramer got a comebacker for the 2nd out and fooled Mahoney on a curveball to end the threat. The threat would return in the bottom of the 8th, when Fletcher Jones took advantage of Forbes Field, tripling into right-center with one down and scoring the tying run one batter later on Tim Crusher's RBI single. The score would stay knotted at 5-5 into the 14th.

After Jack Hassery completed his third inning of hitless relief, the bottom half of the inning started innocently enough, with Hassery being pulled for pinch hitter Ray Eshelman, who popped harmlessly into left field. Boston's Thac Mac then lost the strike zone, walking Ben Trome and sending him to second on a wild pitch. Mahoney found himself in a 3-1 hitter's count and, expecting the fastball, got just what he was looking for. Swinging from the left side, Mahoney's drive followed a majestic trajectory deep into right field, gone from the moment it left his bat. Mahoney, who hit 16 home runs in the regular season in his 2nd year with the team, rode off the field on his teammates' shoulders to chants from the fans, and was nearly breathless after the game. "I honestly don't remember anything between touching first base and finding myself in the clubhouse after the game. It was all such a blur. I wish I could remember it better. This kind of moment may never happen again," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

Manager Vic Gorin had nothing but praise for his young left fielder. "Wasn't long ago that people were already talking about the kid as a bust, but I think he proved today not just the kind of talent he has, but the kind of poise. Never underestimate a young man with something to prove to the world."

The same might be said for the Pirates, who have been expected to reach this lofty perch for several seasons, only to fall short. Now on the biggest stage of the baseball world, they have proven that they're not just here to enjoy the experience, but bring a title home to Pittsburgh.

[ifspuds]

Adkison Dominates, Pirates Take Two-Game Lead in Series
by Jack McKinley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (issue of October 6, 1966)

George Adkison hurled a masterful 2-hit, 11-strikeout gem in game two of the World Series and every Pirates batter scored at least one run as the Pittsburgh nine dismantled three Red Sox pitchers en route to a 12-0 rout and a 2-game lead in the series. Adkison, who went undefeated in the month of September in winning National League pitcher of the month honors, did not allow his first hit until a 1-out triple in the top of the 4th and worked out of a 2-on, no-out jam in the 6th to pitch his 18th career shutout, but none bigger than this one.

"Al (Mahoney) and I came to the organization at the same time," said a clearly exhausted Adkison after the game. "He had his moment in the sun yesterday, I just figured it was my turn." The soft-spoken Adkison, who led the National League in strikeouts, has never been embraced by Pirates fans in the way that they have taken to other Pirates' standouts, but it's hard to imagine that a generation of Pittsburgh kids won't be daydreaming on Little League mounds next summer, pretending to be George Adkison. "I'm just a pitcher," said Adkison. "I do my job and hope things fall in line behind me."

It was evident early on that Adkison would have little to worry about in that regard. Fletcher Jones, the newest Pirate home run champ, put his team up 2-0 in the first inning on a two-out, two-run homer, and the Pirates benefitted from an uncharacteristic drop of a fly ball by Boston center fielder Ricardo Culebras in the 2nd inning to score 4 runs and post a 6-0 lead. Adkison made sure that was more than enough, allowing just the pair of hits to go with an equal number of walks, and posted the second consecutive double digit strikeout start by a Pittsburgh pitcher in the series.

The Pirates added another four-spot in the bottom of the 6th, capped by Ben Trome's 2-run single, and two more in the bottom of the 8th to provide the final margin. Trome, who failed to hit .300 for the first time in his major league career, was the hitting star of the game, picking up three hits and four RBI, running his average over the first two games to an even .500. "It wasn't my best season, no, but this is an entirely new season," he said after the game. "At its core, this is a simple game. Put the bat on the ball and good things can happen."

The Pirates head now to Boston with two good things in their hands, a pair of home wins. Hipolito Castillo will face off against Boston's Curly Roberts, a 19-game winner during the regular season, in game 3. Castillo, who struggled with a stiff elbow the final month of the regular season to fall out of contention for the Andrew Murphy award, is expected to be at full strength for the start.

[ifspuds]

Pirates Fade After Early Lead, Drop Game 3
by Jack McKinley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (issue of October 8, 1966)

Despite back-to-back homers from Asa Booker and Fletcher Jones and an early 3-0 lead over the Red Sox in game three of the World Series, the Pirates could not hold their advantage and allowed the Red Sox to gain back one game. Hipolito Castillo, who had beguiled batters for so long this season until a late season injury, could not maintain the early surplus of runs and pitched just six mostly ineffective innings before departing. The offense proved to be of little help after those three early runs, though they did manage to creep back within a run in the middle innings. With the loss, the Pirates still hold a slender two games to one lead, but with two games looming in Boston, it is a precarious position to say the least.

"We came out flat," agreed manager Vic Gorin. "It wasn't Hippo (Castillo)'s fault, it wasn't anyone's fault in particular. We just need to remember that the series isn't over after two games. You can bet we'll come out tomorrow more focused. Anyone that's not ready to play can just head back to Pittsburgh, because I don't want them in my dugout."

Castillo struggled early, hitting Boston's leadoff batter of the game, George Adams, with a pitch. The second inning started off even worse, with former St. Louis Cardinal Jim Alan making his old rivals pay to the tune of a solo home run. The crafty Pirate was able to work out of trouble, despite allowing two more singles in the inning, but Alan came back to haunt Castillo and the Pirates in the bottom of the 3rd with a booming home run over the bullpen in right-center field. While the Pirates would eventually get a fourth run in the game, it was Alan's blast that set them back on their heels, a wobble they would never straighten in this contest. Some of the Pirates looked a little awestruck to be visiting Fenway Park for the first time in their careers, and the early run advantage seemed to make them complacent after the two solid efforts in games one and two of the series.

Pirates right fielder Cap Marcrum, who has struggled at the plate thus far in the series, got right to the point. "We stunk. You could look around the dugout after Fletcher's home run, and we all thought it would be easy. Looking back on it, it makes us all sick to think we let our guard down that quickly."

When asked about Castillo's availability for the rest of the series, should he be needed again, pitching coach Bob Bussman said, "Hippo's a tough customer. You might not guess it from that easygoing smile, but he's spitting nails he's so angry at the way he pitched today. We'll take a look at him on his throw day and see how he's feeling, and make a decision when the time comes."

A rematch of game one's wild ride is on tap for tomorrow, with Charley Harrington facing Levi Sellers. After the excitement of the series opener, it's anyone's guess what will transpire in game four. Has the early success gone to the Pirates' heads? Will the Red Sox climb back and tie up the series? Or will Levi Sellers and the collection of Pirates bats put the team one step closer to the land Pirates fans have been dreaming of for these long decades?

[ifspuds]

One More Step
by Jack McKinley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (issue of October 9, 1966)

Levi Sellers pitched through a rain delay and held the Boston offense hitless for five innings until his teammates could blow open a close game and the Pittsburgh Pirates moved one step closer to their first World Series championship in fifty-seven years, winning game four by a score of 7-2 over the Red Sox.

Sellers, at 32 years of age the grand old man of the Pirates rotation, atoned for uneven pitching in game one by facing the minimum through five innings and keeping the Red Sox scoreless until the 7th. The Tennessee native pitched eight full innings of three-hit, two-walk ball and left the game with a 7-2 lead that would prove to be the final score. "Talking to Coach Bussman after game one, it was pretty clear I was spending too much time throwing and not enough time pitching. Trying to strike everybody out. Today, I trusted my teammates, and you saw the results," said Sellers.

For all of Sellers' mastery on the mound, Charley Harrington matched him batter for batter until two down in the top of the fourth, when Asa Booker roped a liner down the right field line and made a madcap dash for third base, sliding in just ahead of the relay throw. He scored one batter later when Fletcher Jones lined a single over the head of the third baseman Joe Corman. The ice-cold Cap Marcrum showed signs of warming up leading off the next inning, giving the Pirates a two-run cushion after a solo home run deep into right field. The lead would remain that meager for two more innings.

Tim Crusher, who finished second to Jones among home-run hitting Pirates, drove a pitch into the teeth of Fenway Park's Monster with one down in the top of the 7th, which catalyzed a 5-run outburst that blew the game wide open. Nothing quite so majestic as Crusher's blast powered this rally. Cap Marcrum walked, Henry Cruz singled, and the Pirates tacked on a run on Alberto Val's infield hit. After Levi Sellers failed to get a sacrifice down, Ben Trome reached on an error, and singles from Al Mahoney and Asa Booker accounted for the remainder of the runs.

"Funny game," said Fletcher Jones, who made the first and last outs of the inning. "I don't think the Pirates have ever been known as much of a home-run hitting team as long as I've been around the game. This year, we had plenty of pop up and down the lineup but other than Crush's knock, we went the safety route. But runs are runs, baby. We'll take all of them we can get."

The Red Sox got on the board in the bottom half, an RBI double by Jory Akridge and a Jim Alan sacrifice fly, but by that point the writing was on the wall. The Pirates had exorcised any remaining demons of a lackluster game three performance and would come away with a three games to one series lead. Boston manager F.X. Ditty issued a challenge to his team going into game five, a must-win for his Red Sox. "We didn't want to be going into game five needing a win against Adkison, but here we are, and it's time for the boys to tighten their belts and show what they're made of. This series isn't over yet."

Truer words may never have been spoken. Although the Pirates need just one more win, that one win remains a significant hurdle to clamber over. Vic Gorin thinks the Pirates are up to the task. "I don't see this team getting overconfident any more. They had a pretty clear object lesson in game three. Right now, I don't think there's any pitcher, living or dead, I'd want on that mound more than George Adkison. I like our chances, but there's still at least nine innings of baseball to be played."

[ifspuds]

Paradise Found
by Jack McKinley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (issue of October 10, 1966)

Jim Alan stood at the plate, the last hope of the Boston Red Sox. George Adkison, who had been icily efficient in his second outstanding start of the 1966 World Series, opposed him. No runners on, two down, and the Red Sox needing a miracle to overcome a six-run deficit. Adkison sent his 107th pitch toward the plate, a fastball on the inside half of the plate, but Alan, never intimidated by the hard stuff, got the bat around and sent the ball sharply up the middle. As soon as he hit it, in the back of your head, you could hear that nagging voice. This would be the start of the inevitable Pirates collapse.

Pirates shortstop Tim Crusher, known more for his prodigious power than his graceful glove, had other ideas.

He knew what was coming. He'd taken a couple of steps toward the bag as the pitch was delivered, knowing how Jim Alan could pull a pitch. So his running dive, gloved left hand stretched as far as he could reach it, was enough -- just enough -- to snare the bouncing ball in the pocket. Scrambling to his feet, he threw on to Fletcher Jones with every ounce of strength he could put behind it.

That little voice? Silenced.

George Adkison stood on the mound, too stunned by the umpire's emphatic call ending the game to do anything but stare. That is, until he was mobbed by his teammates, buried beneath a pile of happy humanity the likes of which Pirates faithful had not seen in nearly sixty years.

The Pirates are World Series champions. The franchise, the fans, the players, who suffered for so long are free. This win is for all of them.

It's for all the players whose former teammates turned their heads to avoid the glance of a condemned man just traded to Pittsburgh.

It's for men like Jonathan Stobart, who toiled valiantly in obscurity for so many horrible Pirates teams, then nearly got to taste the thrill of a World Series before it was snatched away from him.

It's for Oz Olzenski, 67 years old and a fresh-faced 13-year old the last time the Pirates even saw World Series action. Oz has been attending Pirates games every year, good times and bad, every year since. If there is a more dedicated fan of this once-downtrodden franchise, you would be hard-pressed to find one.

It's for Charles Bradley, the former general manager of the team who put together the '52-'56 Pirates that came so close three times and never could quite break through.

It's for all the players in the last fifty years who had to be traded elsewhere to get any taste of postseason play.

It's for everyone across the nation who needs something to inspire them when they're at their lowest, when it seems like nothing will ever go right again, for everyone struggling against long odds. It may just be a baseball team, but sometimes the simplest things can be the most encouraging.

It's for Ray Brown, still the greatest player ever to grace Forbes Field's emerald outfield, who passed away before seeing his Pirates make it back to the promised land he'd led them to four times.

And yes, it's also for Bud Breckenridge. It is a cliche in sports, winning one for the ailing, the departed. But I trust that you, gentle reader, will excuse my use of the cliched this one special time.

Finally, Pirates fan, it's for you. All of you that have read my philosophizing, my hair-tearing, my misty-eyed optimism and slumped disappointment over so many past years, all of you that have thrilled to the exploits of Pirates greats and gone into hiding at a 90-loss season. All of you who have kept faith that someday the drought would be ended by autumn's cooling rain of a World Series win. Drink deeply, Pirate fan, and let your thirst be ended. Wait until next year? Go ahead. But for the first time in 57 long years, you'll be waiting not to see if they can do it, but to see if they can do it again.

This will be my last missive. After nearly fifty years of covering the team, I swore to myself that if I had the honor to cover a Pirates' World Series championship, I would put aside my pen and notebook and let a younger man have the tremendous opportunity of following this team as I have done. After all, this is a new era in Pirates baseball. May you and my successor not have to wait 57 more years to celebrate. But just in case, make sure you enjoy this day to its fullest. Let these memories carry you for as long as they need to, and stand proud as a Pirates fan.

[ifspuds]

I've been writing this thread since November of 2004 (poorly timed, it seems, for potential inclusion in the Top 75 of 2005, though I appreciate Vris making an exception for the Top 10), and I've poured a lot of myself into it. I hope people have enjoyed reading about the trials and tribulations of the Pittsburgh Pirates as they stumbled through some really poor seasons and some really exciting but ultimately heartbreaking seasons. I've certainly enjoyed writing about them, which I think is the only way you can create a successful dynasty. Love what you do. This thread has been a labor of love for me, and something I've always come back to even when life is demanding my efforts elsewhere.

But now that the team has finally won a World Series, this thread, like my fictional reporter Jack McKinley, is retiring. It's accomplished its goal: to chronicle the team and its seemingly endless quest for a World Series. It's gotten awfully long, well over 300 posts, and this seems like a good place to take a bow and close things out.

I'm going to keep writing about the Pirates. It'd be hard to stop completely now. But it'll be in a new thread. Hopefully, people who haven't been all that willing to tackle this monstrosity in the past will take a look at a new thread, chronicling a new era in TWB Pirates baseball. It'll begin with the upcoming 1967 season, and it'll be in the hands of my other fictional reporter, Lang Thomason.

If you're reading this, I again hope you've enjoyed the ride at least partly as much as I have, and I hope you'll follow the 1966 World Champion Pirates to their new thread and new home.

[canadiancreed]

Originally Posted by ifspuds

If you keep reminding me of the fifties, I'll be quite happy to send your loyalty as far away from me as I can get.

but when it's there it brings good things

although this news brings sadness to me. Blah