The worst months of September in Pittsburgh Pirates history

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).