Worst Pirates September collapses in franchise history

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The 2024 season has gone completely off the rails for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Entering the month of August, they were above .500 and well within reach of a Wild Card spot (and potentially even the National League Central division title). After a rough August, things don’t look like they’ll be turning around in September. While they've started the month "only" 2-2, one of those losses was via no-hitter.

Unfortunately, if you’re a Pirates fan over the age of 15, this is the third late-season collapse that has happened in your lifetime. Since the start of the 162-game season in 1961, the Pirates have had a winning percentage below .300 four times throughout the final month of the season. The way things are looking, they could quite possibly add a fifth team to that list, but it's first worth examining the other four.

Pirates' Worst September Collapses in Franchise History

2012

Unsurprisingly, one of the worst months in Pirates history was one of the multiple recent late-season collapses. Like this season, the Pirates headed into August 2012 with playoff hopes. At the end of July, they were 59-44, only three games out of the division, and in possession of a Wild Card. A rough August led to them falling out of the division race, but staying in the Wild Card race. However, things completely fell apart in September.

They would go on to have just a 9-22 record in the final month of the year. That was the most losses by any National League team, and tied with the Boston Red Sox for the most Ls in that month among all MLB teams. Their pitching staff combined for a 4.49 ERA, 4.06 FIP, and 1.34 WHIP. They were around the middle of the pack when it came to striking out batters (21.3%) and walking them (7.9%), as well as limiting home runs (1.09 HR/9).

But where the team fell apart the most was offensively. They combined to hit just .227/.303/.358. They ranked bottom ten in each of the three triple-slash stats. The lineup had a sub-.300 wOBA at .290, and a wRC+ of just 82. Both stats once again ranked in the bottom 10 of MLB teams during that month of the year. The only positive to come out of the offense was their 9.1% walk rate, but their 22.7% K% was the league's fifth-highest mark.

2009

The 2009 Pittsburgh Pirates did not have a chance to make the playoffs. They were 44-58 when they headed into August. But the team went from bad to worse as they entered the final months of the year. There was a stretch from August 26 through September 24 where they won just four games. Although they won their last few games of the season, they still went 9-22 in September.

Their offense was last or next to last in nearly every notable offensive stat. They batted just .229/.315/.353. Their on-base percentage was the only number in their triple-slash that wasn’t among the bottom three in baseball. However, they were last in both wOBA (.296) and wRC+ (77). The only thing they managed to do that wasn’t horrendous was walk with a 9.1% BB%.

The Pirates’ pitching staff also wasn’t good, working to a 4.85 ERA, 4.48 FIP, and 1.47 WHIP, ranking in the bottom 10 in baseball in each of the aforementioned stats. They struck out just 14.5% of opponents with a 9.1% walk rate and 0.94 HR/9.

1963

Three years after the Pirates won the World Series in dramatic fashion with Bill Mazeroski's walk-off home run, the Bucs would go on to have one of the worst months in their team’s history. While they were at least on pace to finish above .500 at the end of August, any semblance of putting together a respectable record would go by the wayside in September, as they went 7-22.

As a team, they had a 3.62 ERA, which may not seem horrible, but keep in mind the league average ERA in this era was 3.46. That mark was the sixth-worst among teams in September. They were also one of only three teams to walk 100+ batters while having the seventh-lowest K/9 rate and the sixth-worst WHIP at 1.35.

Their offense was abysmal, too, as they batted a collective .245/.291/.329. Their batting average was the only number among the three triple-slash stats in which they weren’t in the bottom five league-wide. The Bucs’ 85 sOPS+ was also among the bottom five, ranking 17 out of 20 clubs. They had the third-most strikeouts (186) but the second-fewest walks (64). The only number they were average or better in was total bases, where they racked up the ninth-most. Yay.

1998

The worst month of September the Pirates have experienced in the expansion era came in 1998. Once again, the Pirates weren’t a playoff contender this year, but they went 12-9 in August and were 64-71 heading into September. If they could keep up their hot streak, they could finish the year with a respectable record, but any chance of that fell apart in the ninth month of the year, when they went just 5-22. That marked the only time the Pirates have had a sub-.200 winning percentage in September.

Pitching was definitely not a strong suit for the 1998 Pirates. They had a 4.97 ERA, 4.79 FIP, and 1.50 WHIP. FIP was the only stat they didn't rank bottom five in, but don't worry; they were still among the bottom 10 teams in the league. Their 17.5% strikeout rate was the 17th-lowest mark in baseball, but their 10.3% walk rate was the fourth-highest sum. They were also home run prone, as their 1.20 HR/9 rate was the 11th highest among all teams.

Notably, they were by far the worst team in baseball when it came to hitting. The Pirates slashed just .215/.279/.311, ranking last in each stat by a fair margin. Their combined OPS was just .589; the next-lowest was .663. Their .266 wOBA was also the lowest by a lot, with the Marlins ranking 29th at .296. The cherry on top was their 54 wRC+, compared to the Angels’ 74 wRC+.

This isn’t just one of the worst months in Pirates history, but of all time, by any team. There have only been 15 times a team has had just as bad or a worse triple-slash in the month of September than the Pirates did in 1998 (not including strike-shortened seasons or 2024) or an sOPS+ below 60 (these Pirates sat at 59).

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