Eight years ago tonight, any doubter that Pittsburgh is not a baseball town were once again given a big reminder that they’re wrong.
It was the 2013 Wild Card game at PNC Park. A sea of black in the stands and the first team in 20 years with a winning record was on the field taking on the Cincinnati Reds.
IF you were there in person or watching in TV you know it was one of the most magical evenings in Pittsburgh sports history.
In the bottom of the second, Marlon Byrd put the Pirates on the board with a solo shot into left field.
Then shortly after, something that still gives me goosebumps to this day, the crowd started chanting the name of the Reds starting pitcher, Johnny Cueto.
The sound of “Cuuueto, Cuuueto” was deafening inside the park, so loud in fact that Cueto dropped the ball with a 2-1 count to catcher Russell Martin. The next pitch…GONE.
Martin sent another ball over the left field wall giving the Pirates a 2-0 lead and the crowd became absolutely unglued.
While I wasn’t around for any of the Pirates World Series Championships or Steelers Super Bowls in the 1970s, I’ve seen five Stanley Cup Championships, two Steelers Super Bowl wins and three NLCS series’ and nothing compares to that moment, in my mind.
"I was there as a fan that day," said Pirates pre and postgame host Kraig Riley. "It is the only sporting event I’ve ever cried at and aside from getting married and having my kids, it is the happiest moment of my life."
The Pirates would go on to win that game 6-2 with Martin hitting another one and Francisco Liriano pitching a great game, but ultimately the Bucs would fall to the St. Louis Cardinals in the Divisional round, but that night in 2013 showed skeptics and the world that Pittsburgh is indeed a baseball town.
Of course we all know that another decline began after the 2015 season and just last night, the Pirates clinches a 100-loss season, the first since 2010.
But ultimately I’m optimistic for the future. General Manager Ben Cherington has stacked the Pirates farm system to be among the best in the league.
We’ve been told about so many five-year plans in the past it’s hard to believe, but I have a good feeling the Pirates will be competitive again sooner rather than later.
While we may never have another moment like that 2013 Wild Card game, we’ll hopefully have fans packed inside PNC Park once again soon.