The Pittsburgh Pirates might have the best stadium in Major League Baseball.
As long as you don’t tell Michael Kay they have the best broadcast booth, that’ll suffice. Of course, according to Awful Announcing’s readers, they’re sitting pretty at No. 20. And as for ownership? Well, they’re comfortably parked at No. 32.
So, beyond Paul Skenes, there’s not a whole lot for Pirates fans to hang their hats on these days. And Kay made sure to call that out during the Yankees’ Sunday matinee at PNC Park.
Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay talks about the state of the Pirates and the potential they could have but don’t have. Take a watch. pic.twitter.com/aLIKhG7LsB
— Greg Finley (@_GregFinley) April 6, 2025
“You know, we talked about the Pirates not doing much at all during the offseason,” Kay said during New York’s extra-innings loss to Pittsburgh. “The free agent contracts they signed were all one-year deals to veterans to kind of flesh out the roster. [Tommy] Pham, [Andrew] McCutchen, [Andrew] Heaney. No multi-year deals. So, I looked this up. The last multi-year free agent deal they signed was in November of 2016 — Ivan Nova.
“2016? Wow,” John Flaherty quipped.
“And their owner [Bob Nutting] has been here at the ballpark this weekend and he’s getting jeered every time they’ve seen his face,” Kay added.
Flaherty noted how restless the fans in Pittsburgh have been during the team’s first home series of the season, pointing out that it’s a great sports town with passionate, loyal fans who are starving for a winner.
And they’ve been ill-afforded the chance to sustain one, thanks, in large part, to the current ownership.
“And you can’t say it’s too small of a town,” Kay says. “The Steelers sell out every game. The Penguins do great, as well. And this could be just like Cleveland. [The Guardians] contend almost every single year … And the thing that has really angered fans the most is they have an all-time pitcher in Paul Skenes, who has just electrified the baseball world, and they did nothing to build a competitive team around him.”
Skenes is the kind of talent teams dream about. A franchise cornerstone who could anchor a rotation for the next decade. But in Pittsburgh, dreaming big has rarely aligned with spending big.
Even Kay sounded genuinely baffled by the lack of investment around a generational arm.
Until that changes, Pirates fans will continue to fill one of baseball’s most beautiful ballparks, watch one of its brightest young stars, and wonder why ownership refuses to match the energy coming from the stands.
