Sick of the Pirates? Blame it on Bream

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

The last decade and a half of… It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

The last decade and a half of baseball in the National League has definitely been a tale of two cities: Atlanta and Pittsburgh.

The Braves of Atlanta have definitely seen the best of times – 14 straight divisional titles (a run unlike any other in professional sports history, which officially came to an end earlier this weeks as the New York Mets clinched the NL East), while the Pirates of Pittsburgh have suffered 14 consecutive seasons under .500.

So how are these two teams and their streaks connected, you might ask?

Well, if you’re from Pittsburgh, does the name Sid Bream ring a bell?

In the 1992 NLCS, the Pirates met the Braves for the rights to play in the World Series. The Pirates had fallen behind 3-1 in the series, but rallied to win game five at home and then game six in Atlanta, setting up a decisive game seven in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

The Pirates had their ace on the hill, 1990 Cy Young Award winner Doug Drabek. Drabek pitched eight scoreless innings as the Pirates led 2-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Drabek gave up a double to the leadoff man in the ninth. Second baseman Jose “Chico” Lind made an error on the next play, forcing Drabek to intentionally walk the go-ahead run. That player was Bream, a former Pirate at the end of his career with two bad knees and basically no threat on the bases.

Pirates skipper Jim Leyland was forced to pull Drabek and put in reliever Stan Belinda. Belinda got two outs (one on a sacrifice fly to make the score 2-1) before the Braves brought in Francisco Cabrera, their third-string catcher, to pinch hit.

Cabrera singled to left field and as the runner from third scored to tie the game, Barry Bonds, the ’92 NL MVP, fielded the ball, coming up throwing to catch Bream trying to score from second base.

Bonds’ throw drifted down the first-base side of home plate, and as the Pirates’ catcher Mike LaValliere dove to tag the sliding Bream, the umpire had already called him safe.

Bream’s slide won the game for the Braves, who were in the midst of their now-storied run, while the Pirates’ team fell apart to free agency and hasn’t seen a winning season since.

The year before that, 1991, was the Braves’ first as divisional champ. It was also Bobby Cox’s first full year as the manager of the club. Cox was hired midway through the 1990 season, but the Braves still finished last in the major leagues.

In ’91, they became the first team to have the worst record in baseball and then make it to the World Series the following year. And then Bream’s slide in ’92 solidified them as the team to be reckoned with.

The rest, for the Braves, is history. During their streak, in addition to those two division titles and National League pennants, they won three more pennants and one World Series crown while capturing twelve other divisional titles. The Braves have also gone a staggering 1330-829 since Bream was called safe.

The Pirates, on the other hand, have seemingly never stopped sliding after Bream’s infamous slide. During the Pirates’ 14-year streak, they have lost more than a thousand games, going 890-1133.

It’s pretty remarkable that a team which won its division for three straight seasons and played for a chance to go to the World Series twice in three seasons could fall off the radar so instantly and ferociously.

So now one has to ask, with the official news that the Braves’ streak of divisional dominance finally comes to an end, how much longer will the Pirates’ run of ineptitude continue?

Well, coming from a Pittsburgher who was 8 years old when Sid Bream slid home, I don’t ever really remember seeing a winning Pirates campaign, and I almost feel like I never will again.

As this season, the 14th straight of its kind, winds down, one would hope that things would look a little brighter – like next year might be the year. It sounds almost like what Red Sox fans used to say about winning the World Series, but we’re just talking about a winning season here in the ‘Burgh.

As it stands now, with the way baseball operates without a salary cap and the Pirates’ ownership operates without spending any money, it seems as though Sid Bream and his slide could turn into a worse fate than the 86-year curse of the Bambino those Sox fans had to endure.

I mean, at least they got close a few times.

One thing is for certain, the best of times are over in Atlanta, and we’re just hoping the worst of times come to an end here in Pittsburgh sooner than later.

Well, definitely sooner than 2078 – 86 years from 1992.

Dave Thomas is a senior staff writer for The Pitt News and even though he doesn’t really remember watching the 1992 NLCS, he has been haunted by Sid Bream ever since. E-mail him your Bream horror stories at dthomas7224@yahoo.com.