You just had to go there, didn’t you Atlanta Braves?
On this day in 1992, the collective hearts of Pittsburghers were broken but someone who used to be one of their own, Sid Bream.
With the Pirates in the lead 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th, the Braves had the bases loaded with reliever Stan Belinda pitching to Francisco Cabrera.
Cabrera hit a line drive over short stop Jay Bell’s head into left field, David Justice scored from third to tie the game and rather slow-running Bream slid into home barely beating out a throw from left fielder Barry Bonds to catcher Mike LeValliere.
The moment became known as “the Slide.”
That marked the end of the Pirates run of playoff appearances and winning seasons until 2013.
To make matters worse, the Braves are still rubbing it in 29 years after it happened tweeting out, “Sid slid!”
WARNING: Video will bring back painful memories
11-years-ago, former Pirates centerfielder Andy Van Slyke told the MLB Network, “sometimes when wounds are deep and you open them up again they hurt a lot more than you anticipate.”
“It hurts me to this day to see where the Pittsburgh Pirates are and where they used to be . . . it was an opportunity that maybe today the pain of what’s going on in Pittsburgh maybe a little be less to the fan base and to the people who really appreciate Pittsburgh Pirates history, that pain in which they’re going through right now might be less if we went on to the World Series and potentially had a chance to win it,” added Van Slyke back in 2011.
Of course the Pirates would go back to the playoffs for three straight years but once against are in a building phase with fans looking toward a brighter future sooner hopefully rather than later.
If you’re old enough to remember that series, you probably have a story about how shocked, mad or sad you were when that play happened and those memories come flooding back every time you see that clip.
So, no thanks Braves, we remember that moment just fine without your rubbing it in.