The worst months of September in Pittsburgh Pirates history

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.