Pittsburgh Pirates: The Franchise All-Time Bracket
Championship round
The Pittsburgh Pirates bracket heads into the way-back machine for a title match between the 1909 world champs and a 1902 team that was probably the best of its era. Both feature Wagner at his best supplemented by the insanely deep and talented pitching staff.
More from Pittsburgh Pirates
- Trade Deadline: Pirates, Cardinals, and Cubs for sale: Brewers, Reds wish list
- What we got right and wrong about 3 surprising and disappointing MLB teams
- Grading Ben Cherington and the Pittsburgh Pirates front office at the season’s midway point
- Reds, Pirates, Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs: The good, bad, and injured
- Grading the City Connect uniforms just unveiled by the Pittsburgh Pirates
Game 1: This is your basic knock-down, drag-out. Both teams top .690 in winning percentage. In the end, 1902’s 103-36-3 in 142 games equates to .738, making it better than the 1909 team’s 110-42-2 in 154 games, a .694 percentage.
Game 2: A forfeit to the 1909 club, evening the series at a game each.
Game 3: To date, none of the great Pirate teams have been able to match the 1902 club’s 119 OPS+…and the 1909 team’s 107 can’t either.
Game 4: 1902 also throws a 119 staff ERA+ at its opponents. The 1909 team’s impressive 114 staff ERA+ takes a rare defeat.
Game 5: The 50.0 WAR posted by Wagner’s 1909 team ought to beat almost any opponent. The problem is that Wagner’s 1902 team had a 54.2 WAR, giving it the victory.
Result: 1902 in five games
Although the 1902 club was never in this bracket extended beyond a fifth game, it’s worth noting that it’s .958 fielding percentage was an imposing 9 points better than the league’s .949 average that season.
And had the final gone to a seventh game – Hall of Famers—a tie-breaker would have been required. Both teams produced three: Chesbro, Clarke, and Wagner in 1902, Clarke, Wagner and pitcher Vic Willis in 1909.