A look back in history is always fun in baseball. The records, the players, the uniforms, it’s all so fascinating. It also gives us perspective.
A quick search on the Internet or stop at the library can open our eyes to a new world. As a young baseball fan, learning about the legends of baseball’s past, the classic rivalries, and defining moments is just as much fun – maybe even more fun – as following the current season on SportsCenter and in Sports Illustrated.
The pages of the old Sports Illustrated issues from decades ago are windows into another world. The past is part of baseball’s mystique, it’s magic.
SI.com makes history even more accessible in the Information Age. Photo galleries feature memorable events from the past called.
On this date in history: Aug. 6.
Sports Illustrated takes us Back in Time.
Muhammad Ali maintained the WBC hwavyweight title in 1966 with a knockout, Goose Gossage picked up his 300th career save in 1988 and in 1989, Yaz had his No. 8 retired by the Sox.
In between, in 1973, Warren Spahn and Roberto Clemente were inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
It was a bittersweet day for baseball and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Clemente was supposed to still be playing in Pittsburgh. Instead, he was gone too soon after his plane crashed December 31, 1972, in route to Nicaragua to provide aid to earthquake survivors. Clemente finished with 3,000 career hits and a legacy as one of the all-time great players in baseball history and as a model human being. […]
Clemente was a leader on some proud Pittsburgh Pirates clubs. Pittsburgh won the World Series with Clemente in 1960 and 1971. The foundation laid by Clemente was built onto with another decade of winning after his death. In 1979, the “We Are Family” team brought the World Series trophy to Pittsburgh again.
The past can be a source of pride and happiness, but those feelings disappear when the trip back in time ends. The present, the now, is fresh. It’s all that matters.
For Pittsburgh Pirates fans, the pride and passion in their team has been lost in years of losing coupled with a complacent front office that doesn’t seem to care.
The greatness of the past – Clemente, Stargell, Mazeroski, pillbox caps – loses its luster when today’s Bucs are constantly referred to as a Triple-A team in the big leagues.
The Pirates are well on their way to an 18th straight losing campaign, adding to their record for the longest losing streak in North American professional sports history.
The losing tradition of the Pirates has a formula that begins with terrible ownership. Hiding behind the small market excuse in the world of the Yankees and Red Sox, Pittsburgh’s front office trades their best players every year to continue a constant cycle of rebuilding. The foundation is ripped up to leave the organization at square one.
Baseball does not have a salary cap. Small markets could thrive with the right owner. It’s not about the size of the city, it’s about winning. When a team is good, people flock to the ball park to enjoy a day of baseball under the sun. Money is at the root of having a good team in baseball and there are no rules. An owner can spend and spend and spend, and then win and win and win some more. It’s a formula perfected by the late George Steinbrenner.
Bob Nutting is no George Steinbrenner. The current Pirates owner took over in 2007 after having a stake in the club for 11 years with plans to bring back Pirates pride, but there has been little to cheer about. The culture hasn’t changed and a beautiful ballpark is being wasted on a team too frustrating to watch.
An open letter in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to Nutting explained the tortured state of the Pirates fan base.
"Not once during the Nuttings’ involvement has the team had a winning season. The Pirates’ streak of 17 losing campaigns exceeds any run of futility in the history of professional sports. It is, no doubt, as frustrating for you as it is for the fans."
Sure, Nutting would love to see a winner, but it’s hard to sympathize with him when he has millions of dollars and a charmed life. And as the fans said in the letter:
"The difference between you and the other Pirates faithful, though, is you can do something about it."
Nutting hasn’t done a thing. He’s actually made it worse. The Pirates will not become a winner with him leading the way. The Pirates were more concerned with firing an employee who runs in the promotional Pierogi races at the games because he criticized the front office for its pathetic acceptance of losing. At least the Pierogi cared about ending this losing streak. The organization has no fire or urgency to become a winner. It’s time for a change.
In another note, the Pirates couldn’t even stand by their decision to fire the employee, rehiring him only days after letting him go. No wonder this team never wins.
Change starts at the top. Nutting should bow out and sell the club. He’ll never win and he’ll never care. He’s proven that already.
So, who could actually turn the Pirates into a winner?
The open letter suggested the Penguins ownership tandem, Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle. They made the Pens into a winner and have interest in the Pirates. But Lemieux has had success with the Penguins because he is a hockey guy. He’s not a baseball guy and he’ll never have the same passion needed to push the team to new heights. He won’t understand the culture or the business. Professional hockey and baseball are two different animals. Pittsburgh sports fans would be best served if Mario stays in the Igloo, while someone else takes over on the diamond.
That someone is available right now.
Mark Cuban missed out on buying the Texas Rangers this past week. It was his second close attempt to buy a baseball team after being shut out from getting the Cubs last year. Cuban clearly wants in on baseball and he deserves the chance.
He is a proven professional sports owner as the head of the Dallas Mavericks. Few owners are better than Cuban. He keeps his players happy and keeps winning as his No. 1 priority. The Mavericks are a model franchise in sports and Cuban is the reason for that.
Cuban is also a Pirates fan and a fanatic about winning, so that passion that Nutting and Co. is missing is definitely there. Sports fans everywhere know that. And while Cuban hasn’t been in baseball just as Lemieux hasn’t, Cuban is a business man and fan who would undoubtedly figure it out and fall in love with summers at the ball park.
He has done his homework during his attempts to buy the Cubs and Rangers and every failed attempt will only make him more hungry to prove to baseball and the world that he can be a great owner and a winner.
It’s time for a culture shock in Pittsburgh and Cuban is the perfect man to provide the buzz. He would inject energy into the city and baseball. The traditional and conservative culture in baseball would be in for a dramatic but necessary change for the Pirates to win.
While many see Cuban as a loud mouth and immature fan who happens to be a billionaire, he is incredibly intelligent in business and sports. If he had bought the Rangers, he planned to bring Nolan Ryan along, knowing Ryan has been the man behind Texas’ success this season.
Cuban breaks down his pursuit of the Rangers and his big plans for the team on his blog all while congratulating Ryan and his group on their purchase.
It shows he had it well-planned out and he would never jump into owning a team without knowing he could succeed and do it his way. He has the money, but more importantly, he has the smarts and a vision for every team he goes after.
He tried to buy the Pirates in 2005, but the ownership group at the time told him they were not for sale. Cuban saw potential in his hometown team and he was probably forming a plan then. He would spend and spend smartly to turn the team around. Forget about small market, Cuban would make Pittsburgh a big market, a market built on winning. His intelligence and drive would permeate the organization. Cuban would want to know every detail about having success in baseball. Not only would he spend, but he would want the best farm system and marketing campaigns.
He would turn the Pittsburgh Pirates into a winner again.
And decades later, history would remember him for turning it around. The date he buys the team would be marked in the Sports Illustrated archives.
All he needs is a chance.