In the 34 years since the Pittsburgh Pirates were eliminated from the 1992 National League Championship Series, the list of things that this franchise does better than other MLB clubs is very short.
In fact, the list might simply be one entry: selling the future.
Whatever semblance of a fan base the Pirates have managed to maintain over a total of 30 losing seasons since that fateful October night has been held together by one organizational goal.
Focus on tomorrow so today never looks quite as bad.
That’s been an effective tool of late, because the Pirates have had a bright tomorrow to look at for quite a while now.
But if there is a caution sign for the Pirates by calling up Konnor Griffin for the home opener Friday afternoon, it’s that the Pirates have just officially run out of tomorrows.
For the first time since the 2015 wild-card game, the Pittsburgh Pirates are officially living in the present tense.
Griffin is up. Paul Skenes is up. Bubba Chandler is up. All the stud prospects are here. Everything good about tomorrow is in Pittsburgh right now.
Not Altoona. Not Indianapolis. Not next year’s draft.
Today needs to be as good as tomorrow has been.
“I know it’s a fan base that’s just starving for a good, winning team,” Griffin said before his MLB debut Friday. “I want to be a part of that so bad. I’m glad I’m here and can finally do my part and try to win some games.”
That doesn’t mean that the Pirates have to win a World Series for this to be an effective season. They don’t have to win the pennant or even the division.
But they better be … better. They’d better claim a wild-card spot or at least contend for one throughout the year. They better not be below .500.
The sales job for yet another tomorrow is going to be a lot more difficult in 2027 if that happens.
“This team is loaded,” Griffin said. “I get to come in here and just be a piece of this puzzle. There are a lot of guys that are on this roster that are doing great things already for our team, and I’m just thankful to join the group and try to contribute myself.”
Underscoring Griffin’s point, it’s not just about the prospects who have become Pirates. It’s about the much-ballyhooed new crop of veteran acquisitions who have boosted optimism. Players such as Ryan O’Hearn, Brandon Lowe, Gregory Soto, Jake Mangum and Marcell Ozuna.
“That’s been the message all spring to us — from the staff and everybody. Pittsburgh is hungry for a winner,” Mangum said. “They brought in a lot of guys and kept a lot of good guys that are all really good baseball players and good people. As far as the fan base goes, I know that there’s a lot of excitement going around right now, and I think the clubhouse shares that excitement.”
Long before becoming the Pirates manager, Mt. Lebanon’s Don Kelly was acutely aware of how many tomorrows have come and gone through this ballpark, and even Three Rivers Stadium before it.
“Staying in the moment. Staying present. Also, understanding the history growing up here. Having my heart ripped out, like all of us when Sid Bream scored,” Kelly recalled. “These guys who have gotten drafted, went through the minors, all this hype. To now see them in Pittsburgh … It’s an extremely exciting time. There’s a bright future ahead for Pittsburgh baseball, and we have to take it one day at a time and not get too far ahead of ourselves.”
Pirates manager Don Kelly on being pumped by the MLB debut of Konnor Griffin and marveling at how the 19-year-old shortstop makes adjustments. pic.twitter.com/HQmfkAt87N
— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) April 3, 2026
The most consistent thing about every prospect the Pirates have drafted and pumped through Pittsburgh in the 10 full seasons since their team’s last playoff game is that they were always at their best before we ever actually saw them.
Until Skenes, anyway. He broke the mold. He had the expectations, lived up to them and surpassed them. A Rookie of the Year trophy and a Cy Young are all the evidence you need.
Aside from him, though, whether it’s been Gregory Polanco, Jameson Taillon, Mitch Keller, Oneil Cruz or Henry Davis, any hotshot Pirates prospect or first-round pick usually ended up being better when they were shiny, unwrapped toys than they were when they were taken out of the box.
That can’t happen now. Not for Chandler and Griffin. Not for Skenes in Year 3. Not for the entire team.
The Pirates need to seize the moment.
“You do that by taking care of the little things,” first baseman Spencer Horwitz said. “Everyone here has the same goal: Get back to the playoffs and compete for a World Series. There’s going to be bumps along the way. Just stick together. No one expects it to come easy.”
Well, Spencer, the players aren’t alone in that regard. It’s Pittsburgh. No one is expecting that level of success to come easy.
No one even expects finishing .500 to come easy. It’s only happened eight times since 1983. We know how hard it can be. But we do have a right to expect that it will happen and that it will happen soon.
Maybe even this year.
LISTEN: Tim Benz and Kevin Gorman discuss Konnor Griffin’s debut.