Practically every Pittsburgh Pirates fan with a pulse has had enough of team owner Bob Nutting and his apparent commitment to mediocrity. On Monday, two of those fans decided to actually do something about it.
Brothers Canyon and Carter Swartz of Greene County, Pa., unsatisfied with fan boycotts, organized a protest calling for Nutting to sell the team that began at the City-County Building in Pittsburgh and made its way down to PNC Park. A few passersby expressed their support, with some briefly joining the protest. One fan had even started a petition to demand Nutting to sell.
"Nutting's ownership is marked by minimal investment in the team's roster and the selection of poor team management, which stand starkly inadequate in comparison to other Major League Baseball teams," the petition reads. "This lack of investment is hampering our team's growth and performance."
You know what they say. Spend Nutting, get Nutting.
Hilariously small Pirates protest probably won't remove Bob Nutting (but let's dream)
The Swartz brothers, who have been Pirates season ticket holders since 2018, said they will continue to protest throughout the season if necessary. They want Nutting, general manager Ben Cherington and the rest of the team's front office to be held accountable for yet another supremely disappointing season.
They believe, however, that the lack of investment in team payroll is just one of several issues facing Nutting's Pirates.
“It just takes the right people in place to make a good baseball team, and not how much you spend,” Carter said (via Colin Williams of Pittsburgh City Paper). “ the bottom 11 teams in payroll, five of them made it to the postseason.”
The Pirates have been stuck in a cycle of doing the bare minimum (if that), making underwhelming trades and free-agent signings that do nothing to actually improve the team (and, in some cases, making it worse). The result is a barely watchable baseball team, but one that still allows Nutting to collect his money, rinse and repeat, and do it all again the next year.
Unfortunately for the Swartz brothers and other similarly disgruntled Pirates fans, Nutting couldn't care less what they think.
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