The Athletic ranks Pirates as worst MLB franchise over last 25 years

As one of the oldest Major League teams in baseball, the Pittsburgh Pirates have a proud tradition dating all the way back to the 19th century. They played in the first ever World Series in 1903, have made nine appearances overall in the Fall Classic and won it on five occasions.

That last World Series win came in 1979 and the reality is that, since then, the Pirates have been one of the poorest teams in the Majors. Now comes an article by The Athletic (subscription required), which paints them in an even worse light.

Stephen J. Nesbitt put together the 2025 addition of The Athletic's MLB franchise rankings, focused purely on the 21st century to date. And right there in last place is none other than the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the worst Major League team of the last 25 years.

The formula behind the Pirates being last in MLB in The Athletic survey

For some context, teams are awarded points based on reaching the playoffs, as well as how far they advance. However, the franchises can also be penalized one point each time they lose at least 90 games in consecutive seasons.

As a result, the final rankings are damning for the Pirates, as being in 30th place is made even worse as the only franchise to achieve a negative score from The Athletic. Pittsburgh totalled -4 points due to eight years of consecutive 90-loss seasons, with there actually being 12 instances altogether of 90-loss campaigns since 2000.

The four positive points were achieved as a result of the three times the Pirates made the playoffs. Let's call this their 'golden period' of the 21st century, with three consecutive Wild Card qualifications between 2013-15, including one advancement to the Division Series in 2013.

Not much for Pirates fans to cheer for since 1979

On the subject of playoff qualification, it's been a miserable time, full stop, in Pittsburgh since the Pirates won their last World Series in 1979. Consider that they have only been to the playoffs six times in total since their most recent championship, including three consecutive division titles, but also Championship Series losses, between 1990-92.

Moving forward, key to any revival and return to the good old days will be the Pirates' rotation, which should at least keep things interesting this season. The sensational Paul Skenes of course headlines the starting five, but key an eye on top-rated prospect Bubba Chandler, with MLB.com predicting he could give Pittsburgh consecutive NL Rookie of the Year winners despite not beginning the year on the big league roster.

Despite the potential of the rotation, the likelihood is a playoff spot will be beyond the Pirates yet again this year, meaning fans will have to suffer for a while longer yet despite some promise of a brighter future. If nothing else, however, at least this is a fan base which has 'survived' the first quarter of the 21st century, so at this point, what difference does another year (or two) make?

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