Ryan O’Hearn’s message to new Pirates teammates is as bold as it gets

When Ryan O’Hearn arrived in Pittsburgh this week, it immediately became clear that he had shown up to set a tone.

“If you don’t believe it, nobody else will.”

That wasn’t a throwaway line at his introductory press conference. It was a challenge — to himself, to the clubhouse, and, whether intentionally or not, to an organization that has spent years asking fans to believe later instead of now.

O’Hearn isn’t here to be comfortable; he’s here to matter. That distinction feels important for a Pirates team stuck between promise and proof. Between a roster that should be ready to contend and a franchise that has spent far too long hedging instead of committing. Belief has been easy to talk about in Pittsburgh, but it's been harder to live.

That’s why O’Hearn’s mindset matters. This isn’t a star chasing headlines –– it’s a veteran choosing a situation and immediately reframing it. He didn’t talk about opportunity or upside or needing things to break right. He talked about expectations, October and buying in — not someday, but now.

Ryan O'Hearn's message to Pirates teammates raises the bar in Pittsburgh

Buying in starts in the clubhouse. That’s the part Pirates fans should lock onto. This roster is young, talented, and closer than it’s been in years — but youth doesn’t raise bars on its own. Confidence does. Accountability does. Veterans who refuse to treat Pittsburgh as a holding pattern do.

O’Hearn didn’t promise anything he can’t control, either. He didn’t sell hope as a marketing pitch. He talked about belief as a requirement. That’s a subtle but meaningful difference. Teams don’t stumble into contention because enough things go right. They get there because standards change.

The Pirates have spent years asking players to “grow into” expectations, but O'Hearn is flipping that script. He’s saying the expectations come first.

That matters because belief is contagious — just like doubt is. A clubhouse that treats relevance as inevitable carries itself differently than one waiting to be surprised by success. It prepares differently. It responds differently when adversity hits. It doesn’t flinch when the calendar flips to August.

And it doesn’t just fall on O’Hearn. It falls on the players around him. On young core pieces ready to stop flashing potential and start defining outcomes. On leadership that has to reinforce belief with action. And, yes, on a front office that can’t afford to let belief outpace investment.

But this is how it starts — not with grand promises, but with someone walking into the room and saying the quiet part out loud.

If you don’t believe it, nobody else will.

For a franchise that has spent years trying to convince others it’s close, O’Hearn just made it clear: belief isn’t optional anymore.

The bar has been raised in Pittsburgh. Now we find out who’s ready to meet it.