Barnes: Disappointing season masks Pirates’ future potential

On April 7, I went to PNC Park to watch the Pirates play the Phillies.

That night, the game…On April 7, I went to PNC Park to watch the Pirates play the Phillies.

That night, the game ended when Alex Presley beat out a grounder to shortstop Jimmy Rollins in the 10th inning to bring Michael McKenry home for a walk-off infield single.

Even though it was April, and the game-winning hit wasn’t as triumphant as a double into the gap or a home run, I believed that night there was something special about the 2012 Pittsburgh Pirates.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column claiming the Pirates would end up “just fine” and in the thick of the postseason race at the end of the season. Obviously I was wrong, and I can admit that.

I also said on my weekly radio show that if the Pirates missed the playoffs, it wouldn’t matter if they finished above .500 this year. I stand by that claim, but with the Pirates finishing under .500 (79-83), I admit it would’ve been nice to see them end their 20-year-long losing-season streak, the longest in North American professional sports history.

But regardless of the atrocious September collapse, I don’t believe the Pirates have played a better season of baseball since their last winning year in 1992. At any given point throughout the last 20 years, these Pirates held their record at 16 games over .500. That is until late August when the wheels began to fall off, and they posted the most season wins in 20 years with 96 games.

A lot of great things happened with this year’s edition of the team. The aforementioned collapse certainly disappointed a lot of fans, especially those of my own generation who either have no memory of the last winning baseball team in Pittsburgh or weren’t born yet.

First and foremost, a superstar emerged from the Pittsburgh outfield in Andrew McCutchen. This season he burst onto the national scene despite his All-Star appearance in 2011 and made himself a household name by putting on a historic display of hitting prowess in June and July.

In May, June and July, McCutchen posted averages of .360, .370 and an astounding .446 respectively, with his average peaking at .373 on Aug. 1. Despite hitting .252 and .260 in the final two months of this season, McCutchen still finished as one of the National League’s leading hitters with an average of .327, 31 home runs, 96 runs batted in, and an on-base plus a slugging percentage of .954.

He also led the National League in the hits department at 193.

His 7.1 wins-above-replacement rating and his value to the Pittsburgh organization also show McCutchen’s merit as a league superstar. McCutchen is trailed only by San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey’s by a 10th of a point, at 7.2 atop the National League.

In addition to witnessing their star’s breakout year, Pirate fans caught a glimpse of the power-packed potential of Pedro “El Toro” Alvarez. Playing his first season as a full-time third baseman since making it to the majors in 2010, Alvarez rewarded the organization’s patience with 30 home runs, each of which traveled an average distance of 407 feet.

Despite his high strikeout totals and subpar batting average of .245, Alvarez showed his potential as a cleanup hitter for years to come with his home run total and 85 RBI this year.

Another one of Pittsburgh’s young budding stars, Neil Walker, also made great strides this year. The Pittsburgh native hit .280 with 14 home runs and 69 RBI and established himself as one of the best fielding second basemen in the league.

Starling Marte, regarded as one of baseball’s prospects, also showed promise this season. Marte immediately announced his arrival to the big leagues with a home run against Houston in his first at bat.

James McDonald is another source of optimism. He was arguably the best pitcher in the National League for the first few months of the season. McDonald owned a 9-3 record behind a 2.37 earned run average  prior to the All-Star Break.

But McDonald — like the Pirates — collapsed after the break, going 3-5 with a 7.52 ERA before manager Clint Hurdle yanked him from the starting rotation in September.

Speaking of pitching, the resurgence of 35-year-old A.J. Burnett was arguably the best story of this year’s team. After two terrible seasons spent as a New York Yankee, Burnett’s fresh start resulted in a 16-10 record and a 3.43 ERA with 177 strikeouts.

More importantly, Burnett became not only the ace of the Pirates’ pitching staff, but also the leader of this young team and will hopefully be back in Pittsburgh.

I’m aware I used the word potential and its synonyms quite often in this diatribe of faith to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Right now, that’s really all this team has.

But more so than at any point in the last 20 years, I think the team is on the verge of realizing its potential.

I firmly believe management will not trade away the team’s young cogs as it has in the past and will continue to make moves that will benefit the team in the future. Neal Huntington turned Brad Lincoln and Gorkys Hernandez into Travis Snider and Gaby Sanchez at this year’s trade deadline, two players who will have an impact on the future of this organization.

With that being said, the onus falls on the Pirates fan base. If there were ever a time to rally behind this franchise, it’s now. There were a lot of great moments this season, and I know there will be more next season.

Many will call me crazy, and I can understand why, but I still believe in the Pittsburgh Pirates. And I believe baseball is back in Pittsburgh.

Write Nate at njb32@pitt.edu.