Pittsburgh Pirates: The Iceberg of Facts, Stories, & Trivia

Level Three

The Actual Mendoza Line

Mario Mendoza was a former Pittsburgh Pirates infielder from 1974 through 1978. He also played with the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers. Mendoza is known for setting the “Mendoza Line,” which means a .200 batting average. However, many fans don’t know that he didn’t actually have a career .200 batting average, and in reality, he had a .215 career average in the major leagues.

Dale Long’s 8 Straight

In 1956 All-Star first baseman Dale Long had hit a home run in 8 consecutive games. This set the record for most consecutive contests with a long ball, and it remains the longest streak in baseball history.

The Pittsburgh Drug Trials

In 1985, many Pittsburgh Pirates players were investigated for the use of cocaine. Players including Dale Berra, Lee Mazzilli, Lee Lacy, and a handful of other players were investigated. This led to MLB’s cocaine scandal. While the players were initially suspended, they received fines and community service hours instead. The scandal is considered one of baseball’s biggest scandals in the sport’s history.

Randall Simon And The Racing Sausage

Randall Simon was a first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2003. During a game in Milwaukee on July 9th, Simon leaned over the dugout railing and hit the Italian sausage racer costume, which was being worn by college student Mandy Block. While Block walked away unharmed outside of a scratched knee, Simon was fined by authorities for $4320.10. He was fined $2000 more by MLB for disorderly conduct and suspended three games. Mandy later recalled the incident, calling it “hilarious,” and avoided most of its attention. Simon had only hit the very top part of the padded costume, well above Block’s head which caused her to lose her balance.

The Dark Knight Rises

Right-handed pitcher A.J. Burnett became a very impactful player during his time in Pittsburgh. Not only was he one of the main reasons why the Pirates made it back to the playoffs, but he brought a fire and personality that was fun to watch. Burnett earned the nickname Batman during his time with the team in 2012 and 2013. After opting out of his contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, the team he spent the 2014 season with, Burnett returned to Pittsburgh for one last season. During the final home start of his career, Pittsburgh lit up some buildings with the famous Batman symbol, akin to the ones seen in the DC Comics, as well as the Batman movie filmed here in Pittsburgh.

Steve Blass Disease

Steve Blass Disease references a pitcher’s sudden and unpredictable decline that doesn’t result from age or injury. Blass was an all-star pitcher for the Pirates in the late-60’s through the early-70’s. From ’66 to ’72, Blass had a 3.18 ERA, 3.37 FIP, and 1.285 WHIP. His career peaked in ’72 when he finished 2nd in Cy Young voting after posting a 2.49 ERA, 3.46 FIP, and 1.246 WHIP. However, Blass all of a sudden couldn’t pitch. In 1973, in just his age-31 season, the right-hander allowed 97 earned runs in just 88.2 innings, and his walk to strikeout ratio was nearly triple with 84 walks and 27 K’s. Blass would pitch just five innings allowing five more earned runs in ’74 before retiring. Many pitchers modern have suffered this, such as Tim Lincecum, Matt Harvey, Dontrell Willis, and Ricky Romero.

The Origin Of “Pirates”

The origin of the Pirates as a team name came back in the late-1800’s. Before Major League Baseball was established, many different leagues, including the American Association, Players League, the National League, and the International Association. The Pittsburgh Alleghenys were at one point part of every one of the leagues, but after the Player’s League folded in after 1890, many players returned to teams they had previously played for. However, second baseman Lou Bierbauer elected not to return to the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association. This made him essentially a free agent before free agency. That’s when the Alleghenys, now part of the American Association, signed Bierbauer. Before signing with the Alleghenys, Alfred Spink, the founder of The Sporting News, interviewed Pittsburgh manager Ned Hanlon had talked Bierbauer into signing with the Alleghenys. The Athletics and American Association officials didn’t take this too kindly as they claimed Pittsburgh committed “Piratical” acts. Because of the Allegheny’s actions, they earned the nickname the Pirates. The name became official in 1891, and the rest is history.