Bob Nutting does not “get” Pittsburgh
October 13 is an important day for Pittsburgh baseball fans. It was on that day that Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski won Game 7 of the 1960 World Series against the New York Yankees. His homerun is arguably the most famous postseason homer, and without a doubt, the most dramatic. That date remains important to this day because ever since 1985 fans flock to the remains of old Forbes Field on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh to listen to the radio broadcast. The Mazeroski homer is relived every year, at the same spot, at the same time as in 1960.
This town loves baseball.
That is what Pirates owner Bob Nutting does not understand about the Steel City. We know he does not care about baseball in Pittsburgh, but what he fails to realize is that the fans and the city desperately want to love the Pirates again.
The numbers back that up too. In Nutting’s first four years of owning the team (2007-10), the Pirates finished no higher than 27th in attendance and drew no more than 1.7 million fans. The worst year came in 2009 when just 1.5 million people passed through the PNC Park gates. Then in 2011, when the Bucs were competitive for the first time in years, they finished 22nd in attendance drawing 1.9 million. Between 2011 and 2015 the city showed finally up. The Pirates maxed out at 15th in the league with 2.5 million fans in 2015. It is not coincidence that they won 98 games that year. Not only did people pack the park, but fans all over the country got to see how passionate the Pittsburgh fan base is and it put beautiful PNC Park on display for the whole baseball world. In 2017 the attendance dipped below 2 million for the first time since President Obama’s first term in office.
The fans did not just show up either, they bought in. Between 2012-2015 Andrew McCutchen had one of the hottest jerseys in the entire MLB. He finished top 10 in jersey sales every year, and he finished as high at sixth in the league in 2012. Obviously, that has something to do with McCutchen being one of the best players in the league at the time, but it is doubtful that Jason Bay jerseys sold as well when he won Rookie of the Year in 2004.
Since 1990 the city of Pittsburgh has gotten to witness seven championship parades; five for the Penguins and two from the Steelers. Given those riches, it may be hard to believe but Pittsburgh was originally a baseball town, and one of the best in the country at that. Before the arrival of the Steelers in 1933, the Pirates had already won two World Series and played in a total of four. They played in what today is considered one of the greatest ballparks of a bygone era, Forbes Field from 1909-1970. When the Penguins arrived in 1967 the Pirates led by greats Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell won two more World Series in 1971 and 1979.
I know it might come as a surprise to some Yinzers out there, but Bob Nutting is not a stupid man. He is a businessman and can see the correlation between attendance and jersey sales that he enjoyed during the renaissance on the North Shore. It is not hard to see that he does not care, otherwise he would have sunk more (some) money into the team and watched as he raked in the profits from a sold-out PNC Park.
I truly believe that he honestly does not know just how much the city of Pittsburgh is willing to give for a good product. The Penguins and Steelers sell out every game, at much steeper prices, and from May until August the Pirates are the only show in town. Pittsburghers have shown that if you give them something, they will reward you.
Bob Nutting does not get that and I do not know if he ever will.
